


Winter Star Stories

by girljen



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Gifts, feast of the winter star
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-09-12 05:44:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 37,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16867204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girljen/pseuds/girljen
Summary: It's time for the Feast of the Winter Star! Everyone in the village gets their Winter Star letter and searches for the perfect gift for their Winter Star friend. This is a glimpse into Pelican Town during that crazy week before the Feast, and how the villagers think of one another. Happy Feasting!





	1. To Pam, from Lewis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marnie and Lewis draw names every year, to see who will give to whom. This year, things go sideways, but Lewis gets the names done and finds a good gift for his secret friend despite the drama.

To Pam, from Lewis

Lewis and Marnie sat at the dining room table in the Mayor’s Manor. Between them was a bowl filled with folded bits of paper. Marnie leaned across the table. “Are you ready?”

Lewis had a pen and notebook at his seat. In one column, he had written the names of everyone in Pelican Town. The other column was blank, to be filled with gift recipients. “Ready!”

Marnie reached in.

“Abigail will be giving to…” She unfolded the paper. “Gus!”

“Thank you.” Lewis wrote in his notebook.

“Alex will give to...you.”

“Take my name out for now,” Lewis said. “If I recall correctly, there’s an odd number of us. If anyone has to go without a Secret Friend, I’d like it to be me.”

“Awww…” Marnie smiled softly and set his paper aside. “Well if your name was in there, what would you be hoping to get under the Winter Star tree?”

“Maybe some aged whiskey. Or a hot pepper plant for the garden, that would be nice!”

“Oh, good choices!” Marnie said. “What about a bouquet?”

“Well, that depends on who it’s from!” Lewis laughed. “I wouldn’t want one from Alex, but I wouldn’t mind one from a few others…”

Marnie’s face hardened. “What if it’s from...your girlfriend?”

“Marnie, you know we can’t go public with this. It’ll undermine my authority!”

“How?” She glared. “You’ve been Mayor for longer than some of the people in this town have been alive, honey. The one time someone challenged you, you beat him with 85% of the vote even though he spent twice what you did on his campaign.”

“I just don’t want people to stop taking me seriously,” Lewis said.

“As what? The Mayor, or a potential suitor?”

“Well…”

Marnie didn’t let him finish. She calmly stood, grabbed her purse, and walked out, slamming the door behind her. 

Lewis shook his head and sighed. He reached in the bowl.

“Alex is giving to Emily…” he murmured to himself and wrote the names down, then grabbed two more papers. “Caroline is giving to Clint. Clint is giving to Elliott.”

Lewis didn’t sleep that night. After matching up gift givers and recipients, he had to print and fill in the Winter Star letters. Normally, he’d have Marnie’s help. He’d tried calling her, but got sent straight to voicemail each time he called. To retaliate, he matched her up with Robin, hoping that Marnie’s dislike was mutual and she’d get a bad gift. So, the tedious process of writing, folding, and stuffing Winter Star letters fell to him. He also had to deliver them, as well as picking up goods that were being sold.

The sun was just barely coming up by the time he finished his last mail stop, on the beach. Elliott sat by his campfire, dressed in silk pajamas and a heavy coat, with his hair in a low ponytail. He was using a twig to toast a piece of bread. Upon seeing the Mayor, he jumped to his feet.

“Mayor Lewis! This is a surprise! I’m sorry I’m not more presentable…”

“Yeah, well, look at me,” Lewis griped. His hair was a mess. He had a five o’clock shadow. There were dark bags under his eyes.

“At least you’re wearing proper clothing,” Elliott said. “I apologize, again, for being out here in my pajamas. Would you like some toast and jam?”

“No, I’d like to go to bed.” He sighed. “I was up all night doing these blasted Winter Star letters, and didn’t have any help.”

“Whose name did you draw for yourself?”

“Pam.”

“Was that by design?”

“Nope. It’s always a blind draw, always by chance. The only thing I did was take my name out of the running so everyone else would get a gift, since there are an odd number of people here. You got--”

“--NO!” Elliott laughed at the sharpness of his voice. “Please, Mayor, I’d like to keep it a surprise! I’ll be going to Leah’s tonight, we open our letters together.”

“Alright.”

“As for Pam, I know she has a taste for drink. Maybe some artisanal mead?”

“I guess I could get some from the farm,” Lewis said. “Then again, maybe I should get her something that she can use while she’s working.”

“Oh, she’d use that mead, all right…”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of." Lewis forced a weak laugh.

"Maybe a book or two?” Elliott asked.

Lewis sighed. “That would work, I guess. I’ll think about it.”

With that, he collected the few shells that Elliott had gathered, and headed back to his house. He checked his mailbox, knowing that the only one who would leave a note was Marnie. There was nothing. 

That night, he went to the Saloon. He made a beeline for the bar, where he ordered a beer and told Gus to keep a tab open. His next stop was Marnie’s table. She seemed to stare right through him.

“Marnie! How are you?”

“You know how I am, and you know why,” she said. She spoke plainly and quietly.

Lewis leaned in. “Marnie, baby, I’m sorry. It was a misunderstanding! You just took what I said the wrong way!”

“Don’t you ‘baby’ me. Go somewhere else.” She glared at him.

Lewis walked away, back toward the bar. He sat next to Pam. If nothing else, maybe he could get some information out of her.

“Good evening, Pam.”

“Doesn’t sound like it. If I could afford it, I’d buy you a drink!”

“Well, I can afford it, so I’ll buy me a drink. When I’m done with this one, that is.”

“That’s the spirit!” She chugged half a beer in one gulp and slammed the mug down on the counter.

“Hey, watch it!” Gus turned around. “That’s my bar you’re slammin’ glass on, Pam!”

“Sorry.” She gave him a sheepish grin. “Listen, Mayor’s havin’ a bad night. Let’s make sure his glass is never empty!”

“Let’s not,” Lewis said. “I still have work to do!”

“Eh, you can do it with a couple beers in ya,” Pam said.

“A couple, maybe, but no more than that.” Lewis took a sip of his beer. “Listen, Pam, I need your help.”

“How much ya gonna pay me?”

Lewis laughed. “A beer?”

“Alright! Now we’re talkin’! Gus, get me one on the good Mayor’s tab!”

Gus turned around and cocked an eyebrow at Lewis.

“Yeah, what she said!” Lewis laughed. 

“So whaddaya need my help with?”

“Winter Star gift suggestions.”

“Who’d you get?”

“The farmer.”

“You know, that damn farmer spent 13 hours in the desert the other day! I had nothing to do!”

Lewis smiled. Perfect! “Maybe I should get them something to keep them around here! How’d you end up killing 13 hours, anyway?”

“Twiddlin’ my thumbs. Sitting in the bus with the AC on. Sitting in the bus with the AC off so I didn’t run out of gas. Going to the Oasis. Reading an entire garbage novel I bought at the Oasis. Tell ya what, that fishin’ hole was looking mighty fine. Wish I had a pole.”

“I know, right? Maybe I could get the farmer a puppy, a little puppy who needs to be let out every couple hours…”

Pam laughed. “That would be so cute! And it would keep the farmer busy, too! Now would be the time to do it, before Spring hits…”

“Maybe one that needs lots of training to really be a good dog would work, like a Dwarf Herder or a Mountain Shepherd!”

“Yeah!” She slugged Lewis on the shoulder. “Now you’re thinkin’! Get that farmer a working dog!”

After a little more beer and dog talk, Lewis left. He tried to say goodbye to Marnie. He said goodbye to the back of Marnie’s head.

On the day of the Feast, Lewis strutted in carrying a large rectangular box. Once the feasting really got underway, he found Pam and Penny standing near a buffet table.

“Pam! Happy Feasting! I’m your secret friend.”

“I thought you were the farmer’s secret friend.”

“Nope!” He laughed. “I took a little creative license so I could find you a good gift.”

“Hey! You lied to me?!”

Lewis stepped back. Pam was mad, and it showed. “Well, yeah, but you got a beer out of it. Besides...open this.”

Pam snatched the gift out of his hands and tore it open. She was about to yell back a retort when she took a closer look. “What’s in the box? Looks like a fishin’ rod. You lying to me again?”

“No, ma’am.” He smiled warmly. “This is a brand new iridium fishing rod and lightweight spinning reel. I’ve included a cork bobber and some bait.”

“Hey, hey! Now this is really something! Thanks a million!” She held the box up and took a good look at the back. “Iridium, huh? I can’t wait for that farmer to take a trip to the desert now!”

“Glad you like it! Can you forgive me for lying? I did what I had to do to get the info.”

“I’ll let it slide this time.”

“Good woman. Happy feasting!” From there, Lewis walked over to the Winter Star tree and found Marnie.

She gave him a tight-lipped smile. “Hello, Lewis.”

“Hi Marnie. I’ve missed you the last few days. I’m sorry I was such a jerk. I’ll make it up to you, maybe for New Year’s?”

“It’s okay.” She sighed. “I’m about to go say hi to my aerobics buddies.” She left the tree and headed over to the tables, finding Clint drinking a beer and Caroline giving him a gift.

“Hi, Caroline! Hi Clint! Happy feasting to you both!”

“Happy feasting,” Caroline said. “You’re a blues fan, aren’t you?”

Clint’s eyes widened.

“Yes I am,” Marnie said. “Why do you ask?”

With her foot, Caroline nudged Clint under the table.

Clint turned bright red. When he spoke, it was quick and mumbled, just above a whisper in volume. “I have tickets to The Muddy Boots concert on New Year’s Eve, wanna go?”

“What?” Marnie leaned in. “Did you say concert tickets?”

“Uh huh.”

Marnie sighed. “Well, I’m not sure if I have plans, but…” She thought about it for a second. “...if I do, I can cancel them.” 

Clint spoke, nearly interrupting her. “Oh, if you have plans, it’s alright! Don’t worry about it!”

“She’s saying yes, you nugget!” Caroline hissed.

Marnie laughed. “Yes, Clint, I would love to go. It’s been way too long since I’ve seen live music.”


	2. To Alex, from Elliott

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leah makes a gift for Pierre, and Elliott is stumped as to what to get for Alex.

“Come in, Elliott! The door’s always open for you, you know that, right?” Leah stepped away from her easel and wiped a splotch of paint off her hand. 

“Of course, but I want to be a gentleman. What if you weren’t decent?”

“I’d be in the bathroom, and that door would be locked. You’d be free to turn on the kettle and have a seat, or leave a note, or whatever. You know I’m always either in clothes or pajamas.”

“It’s the thought that counts, and a force of habit. I want the ladies to know that I mean them no harm.”

“Well, thank you for that. So.” She stared intently at the envelope in his hand. “Ready to open your letter?”

“Yes I am! Do you have yours?”

“On the table.”

Every year, Elliott and Leah opened their Feast of the Winter Star invitations together, to see who they’d be giving gifts to. Then they’d open up a bottle of wine and plot out their gifts. 

Before Elliott had finished pulling his letter opener out of the pocket of his jacket, Leah had torn her envelope open. 

“Pierre!”

“Oh! That should be an interesting challenge.”

“Yeah. I’ll have to get him something memorable. Something personalized, maybe, with more sentimental value than practical value…”

Elliott raised an eyebrow.

“I want to give him something he won’t sell.”

“He’d do that?”

“Remember last year? The farmer gave him iridium-quality cranberry wine with a hand-drawn grapevine on the label.”

“Yes! I do remember that! He sold it?”

Leah hurried to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle from the cabinet. She held it out for inspection. It was the farmer’s bottle.

Elliott’s jaw dropped.

“And he didn’t even discount it!” Leah laughed. “Of course I bought it anyway, I love the farmer’s drawings and I love good cranberry wine. I’m going to put silk flowers in the bottle tonight after we’re done drinking it.”

“We’re drinking it?”

“Of course, this is a special occasion!” Leah grabbed a corkscrew from the drawer. 

“Now that you mention it, my dear...in a way, it is. Informal as it is, I’ve come to anticipate the day the invitations arrive as giddily as I anticipate the feast itself!”

“Me too.” The cork slid out of the bottle with a satisfying pop. Leah poured two glasses of wine and sat one in front of Elliott.

“I propose a toast!” Elliott raised his glass.

Leah lifted her glass in anticipation.

“To the pleasant surprise of an unexpected tradition, and a lovely lady to share it with.”

They gently clinked glasses and sipped the wine. 

“This stuff is wonderful,” Leah said. “I hardly ever buy it for myself.”

“It’s definitely an indulgence worth savoring.” Elliott picked up his letter opener. “Shall I?”

“Yeah, I’m curious!”

He deftly cut into the envelope and removed the letter. After a second of scanning, he found the name of his secret friend. “Alex?!”

“Oh! That should also be an interesting challenge.”

“Alex.” Elliott’s face fell. “A young man who cares only for sports, television, and bodybuilding...three of the things I find least interesting in this world.” He took a large drink of wine. “Good thing we have this whole bottle.”

“He likes dogs, too…”

“Yes, but far be it from me to burden his grandparents with another one.”

“Last year, Vincent was his gift-giver. He drew Alex a picture of a Mountain Shepherd, like Dusty.”

“Ah.” Elliott leaned back and looked up, as if searching the heavens for inspiration. “Most years, when I get my secret friend, I write them a story. I’ve done it for Sebastian, I’ve done it for Jas...the only friend I didn’t write for was Emily, and that’s because she specifically mentioned wanting a driftwood playground for that parrot of hers.”

“I remember that!”

“Thanks for your help with that, by the way. I’m hopeless with tools. I just don’t know what Alex would want! He has sports equipment. He has weights. If only I’d been assigned someone I could write for!”

“You could write for him.”

“But he doesn’t read! When he’s not outside with that gridball, he’s watching TV!” 

“So...he enjoys a good story.”

“Yes, but only if it’s spoon-fed to him through the television.” 

“Well--”

“I’d wager a guess that if I wrote a story for him, he’d only use it as a placemat for his nachos.”

“Hey!” Leah reached across the table and gave him a light slap on the wrist. “Stop being snarky! He only avoids reading because he’s not good at it!”

“And I’m sure lack of practice has nothing to do with that,” Elliott said sarcastically.

“Really! I talked to Haley about this. Remember when she came over the other day to take those photos of my sculptures for the website? We got to talking about Alex. Apparently, he’s been meeting up with Penny in secret.”

“Oh, really! I can imagine the green-eyed monster attacking Haley now! She’s given to fits of passion--”

“She was livid! Until she found out that he was only meeting up with her for tutoring.”

“Of course that’s what he’d say!” A twisted smile graced Elliott’s face. “This could be the plot of my next novel! Intrigue and romance and deception, how exciting!”

“No, he was being serious! Haley found children’s books in Alex’s room. Alex reads the same stuff as Jas and Vincent! According to Haley, he just can’t understand written words that well.”

“Dyslexia, maybe?”

“That could be. He’s not a good writer, either. The farmer got a letter from him, and it was nearly unintelligible. But he’s trying!”

Elliott poured himself another glass of wine. 

“Poor guy.” Leah shook her head. “He was so embarrassed when Haley found those books. He’d tried to hide them.”

“It is hard to be seen as an outsider,” Elliott said, “especially when the reason you’re excluded is because you’re behind where you should be.” He had a faraway look in his eyes. “Maybe I should write a story for Alex.”

“You should! You may need to be a little less loquacious than normal, though.”

“I have written for Jas before. I think I can do it. Now I just need to think of what to write.”

“Something about gridball?” Leah finished her glass of wine.

Elliott laughed. “Oh, that would be a disaster! I barely know my touchdowns from my strike zones!”

“Sci-Fi? I know he took his grandpa to see the last Star Voyage movie when it came out.”

“Possibly. Wait, you said he likes dogs. Maybe I could write a story about a dog--a parable, maybe! A determined dog, abandoned by a callous owner, trying to find a home!” Elliott reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notebook and a pen. He wrote quickly, scrambling to catch the inspiration before it went away. “The poor thing will have to go through obstacles and storms and rejection before finally finding a loving family!”

“That sounds great!”

“Shall I focus on determination? Or learning, maybe? I want this to feel like a fun story, yet still teach a lesson…”

Elliott spent most of the week before the Feast of the Winter Star at his writing desk. The exceptions were walks through town to meet with Granny Evelyn or Haley and ask them about Alex. He wanted the story to resonate with the young man, not only so he’d actually attempt to read it, but so he’d treasure it.

Rather than typing the story on his ancient typewriter, he borrowed Leah’s laptop to type the story in a large typeface designed specifically to be easy to read. He bound the book in a plain blue hardback cover and embossed the title, “Scruffy’s Quest,” in gold letters.

Leah, in between her work on a new sign for Pierre’s store, illustrated the front and back inside covers. She’d offered to illustrate the pages at the start of each short chapter, but Elliott turned her down. “No thank you, my dear. I’ve talked to Haley. She says Alex is embarrassed to be seen reading books with pictures in them.” Leah understood, and was secretly glad to have a bit of free time during that one crazy week.

On the day of the Feast, Elliott wasted no time finding Alex.

“Alex, hello!”

“Hi, Elliott.” Alex slouched in his seat, not meeting Elliott’s eyes.

“Have you eaten yet?”

“A little.” 

“Only a little?” Evelyn interrupted. “Poor dear, are you not feeling well?”

Alex shrugged. “I’ll get something later.”

“Would you like to open your gift?” Elliott handed Alex a beautifully wrapped package.

“Oh, you’re my secret gift-giver?” Alex took the package. He tore into the elaborate wrapping, snapping ribbons and dropping paper. Elliott cringed upon seeing hours of work undone in seconds.

“Scruffy’s Quest…” Alex examined the cover.

“Yes. I wrote it just for you.”

Alex couldn’t hide the discomfort on his face. “Thanks.”

“Go on, open it up!”

Alex opened the front cover to reveal Leah’s illustration. It was a cute little dog, walking alone along a forested road. He turned the page and slowly read, murmuring the words. “Scruffy laid down by the fire with his bone. It was hard to believe that just a week earlier, he had nearly lost all hope.” Alex paused and looked up at Elliott. He scanned the rest of the page. He leafed through the first few pages, then ruffled his finger through the rest of the book. 

He leaned closer to Elliott. “I can read this!” His voice was an excited whisper. “This is something I can actually read!”

“That was my intention, sir.” A smile crossed Elliott’s face. He spoke quietly. “I know you’re not much of a reader, but you love a good story. So I tried to write a story that you could read and would enjoy. I only hope I’ve succeeded.”

Three days later, Elliott awoke to find a note in his mailbox:

“Elliott,

Thanks again for the book. I cried when Scruffy’s new family gave him a new collar. Don’t tell anyone.

Alex

P.S. I had no idea that “mongrel” means “mix breed” but I figured it out by the end.”

Elliott tucked the note away in his nightstand, alongside unsent love letters, Leah’s sketches, and a sachet of French lavender. It would stay there for the rest of Elliott’s life.


	3. To Vincent, from Maru

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maru tries to hang out with Sebastian, dreams up a smart fridge for Penny, and wracks her brain to come up with a gift for Vincent.

“Hey Sebastian, I brought you some coffee.” Maru walked into the dark, cool basement bedroom, stepping over dirty clothes and graphic novels.

“Maru?” Sebastian’s head snapped up. “What are you doing in here? I thought you were Abigail, that’s the only reason I told you to come in.”

“Well, now you have coffee,” she said. She held back a snarky comment. “Hey, will you please help me real quick?”

“Can’t reach something? Ask your dad.”

“I actually built a hydraulic lift into the cabinet by the fridge so I could get the stuff on top of there,” she said. “And when I need stuff out of the other cabinets, I just climb on the counter. I was hoping you’d be able to help me with my Winter Star gift.”

“Who’d you get?”

“Vincent.”

“He’s a twerp. Get him clay.” Sebastian looked back to his computer and kept typing.

“Oh, sorry. Are you working?”

“Yeah. But you brought me coffee, and I really wanted some, so I guess I can call it a coffee break.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Oh! This is the good stuff!”

“Yep. Harvey bought me a bag of it after I transferred all the records on to the computer.”

“Nice. Don’t actually get Vincent clay, by the way. He hates it.” Sebastian chuckled.

“I figured as much. Is there anything he’s been asking for?”

“Toys. A skateboard. A guitar. Don’t actually get him one of those, either, unless it’s acoustic. I don’t wanna hear him butchering chords all day.”

Maru giggled. “Okay. What kind of toys, then? I can’t get him a skateboard in good conscience without including a helmet, and I can’t afford both.”

“Action figures, building blocks, planes, cars...and he also mentioned a Flower Princess doll. So he can play princesses with Jas, I guess. Don’t you still have yours?”

 

“I never had the Flower Princess, only the Sky Princess and the Sea Princess. I still have the Sky Princess, she’s my favorite! I wish I had a dress with the galaxy on it.” 

“You’d wear a dress?”

“Yeah, that one!” She laughed. “And I do too wear dresses, I wear the Flower Dance dress every year…”

“I guess I should be grateful I only have to wear the stupid blue outfit.”

Maru shrugged and took a drink of her coffee. “I should be going to the city with Dad tomorrow afternoon, I can look then. Wanna come?”

“Nope.” He took another sip of his coffee. 

“Are you sure? Don’t you need to go shopping?”

Sebastian leaned back in his chair. “I have a motorcycle, an internet, and no desire to spend time with Demetrius. I’m good. Thanks.”

“Okay…I was kinda hoping to hang out with you, but I guess not.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, that’s why I asked.”

“Huh. Well, then, maybe we can get dinner at the Saloon sometime.” He turned back to his computer. “I just don’t wanna deal with Demetrius. Between his driving and his nitpicking, I’m about over it. No offense.”

“Okay.” Maru grabbed her coffee cup from the desk. “Thanks for the help with Vincent’s present. I think I’ll be able to find him something cool.”

“That’s good.”

Maru left, feeling a bit dejected. Did Sebastian really mean it about dinner at the Saloon? Probably not. He was always so aloof around her.

Her next stop was the trailer. Penny was washing dishes. Without a word, Maru grabbed the dish towel from the door handle of the fridge and started drying.

“Thanks! It’s hard to run a household all by yourself.”

“I should build you a robot, Penny.”

“I’d be okay with just a dishwasher, honestly.” Penny dropped a handful of silverware on Maru’s outstretched towel.

“How about a dishwasher with a little detachable vacuum in the bottom, that would scoot around and clean the floors, then dump the dust down the drain?”

“That would be cool...”

“And a sensor on the fridge that would scan and weigh everything that came in, and tell you when you were running low on something! Actually, there would need to be a camera for fresh produce without barcodes...and maybe something to check the ethylene levels in the fridge so it could tell you when produce is going bad! But would there be a way to separate it by plant species? Maybe I could get Dad to help me out with that one. It would be so cool! I’d need a display of some sort, but would an LED board be enough, or should I go for a full LCD monitor…?”

“Maru!” Penny giggled. “I think you’re getting carried away…I can’t even afford winter boots, let alone the materials for a robot.”

“I can afford to have the idea, though. I’ll have to draw up the schematics when I get home, so I don’t forget. If I could make this happen, it would be so awesome! And then I could sell them and use the money to finance my AI build!”

“Wouldn’t that be nice!”

“Yeah it would!” Maru reached over and grabbed a plate from Penny. “Anyway, do you know what Vincent might want for a Winter Star gift?”

“Oh, you got his name? Maybe you could get him an educational toy. Or a really cool book. Trying to get him to read and study is like pulling teeth sometimes.” She sighed. “He loves to draw--and that’s good! Don’t get me wrong, creating is good!--but he spends lecture time doodling in his notebook.”

“What does he draw? I bet it’s funny.”

“Soldiers fighting giant bugs, mostly. And cars and planes. And he’ll sometimes draw those Nature Princesses for Jas if she asks. One time he drew the Sea Princess getting dragged off by a giant Rock Crab. That made Jas so mad she didn’t talk to him for the rest of the day! And then she wrote him a mean letter. He was so sad that he actually wrote a letter of apology back to her! I didn’t stop him, because writing practice is writing practice.”

“Nice! He actually drew a Rock Crab?”

“Yeah, and it looked accurate, too.”

“I have an idea!” Maru started working faster, eager to get the dishes dry. “I know exactly what I’m getting Vincent!”

“Please say it’s not a Rock Crab…”

“It’s not a Rock Crab. I got pinched by one of those things when I was little, they’re mean! I wouldn’t give one to a kid!”

On the day of the festival, Vincent was making the rounds. He was asking everyone if they were his secret gift-giver. Every once in a while, Jodi would catch him and gripe at him for being rude.

The night was nearly over when he finally got to Maru. 

“Um...Miss Maru? Are you my secret gift giver?”

“Yes, I am!”

“Really?! Can I have my present?!” He tried to climb over Maru, to the gift bag on her other side.

“Vincent!” Jodi’s voice sliced through the air. “You stop that right now, young man!”

Vincent froze.

“You do not ask for your Winter Star present! Your gift-giver will give it to you when they’re good and ready!”

“It’s me, Ms. Jodi,” Maru said. “And lucky for Vincent, I was just about to give it to him!”

“Sorry about that,” Jodi said. “He just gets so excited, and it’s hard for him to remember his manners, but we have to learn and practice...don’t we, Vincent?”

“Yes ma’am. Sorry.” He turned to Maru. “Sorry for being impatient, Miss Maru.”

“Thank you, Vincent. It’s easy to get carried away, isn’t it?” She handed him the gift bag. “I hope you like this.”

“Me too!” Vincent grabbed the bag. 

Jodi cringed.

Vincent dug through the tissue paper in the bag and found two things. The first was a magnifying glass. The second was a three-ring binder full of papers.

“What is this?” he asked Maru.

“Read it.”

He opened the binder and sounded the words out slowly. “Gross...bugs...and...where... to...fin--I mean, find--them.” He looked at Maru, then back at the paper. “Gross bugs and where to find them?! COOL!”

“And I got help with it from an ecologist who studies the ecosystem of the Valley and the surrounding area, so it’s accurate information.”

“What?”

“My dad helped me. He knows where all the gross bugs are.”

“Cool! I get it now, I can use the magnifying glass to look at the bugs up close! Thanks!”

Jodi cringed again.

“Exactly!” Maru smiled at Jodi. “That way, you can draw better pictures of them. And you can write about them and describe them, too, I know Miss Penny makes you write paragraphs, so this will help.”

Jodi’s face lit up. “I get it now,” she said.

“Miss Maru, can I write you a letter about the grossest bug I find?”

“Please do! I’m excited to hear about it!”

“Hey Maru, catch!” Sebastian’s voice rang out from the next table.

Maru swiveled around, just in time to get hit in the face by a package. Thankfully, it was soft.

“Oh, you’re my secret gift-giver?”

“Yep. Lewis sure knows how to pick ‘em.”

Maru tore open the package. Inside, there was a black t-shirt, printed with an accurate picture of the galaxy.

“It’s not a dress,” Sebastian said, “but it’s accurate. There were abstract galaxy printed dresses, star patterns, planet patterns...but no accurate picture. I figured that accuracy was what you were going for, so I got the shirt. And it’s your size, I checked the tag on another t-shirt when Demetrius made me do all the laundry the other day.”

Maru’s mouth hung open.

“What, don’t you like it?”

“Sebastian, I love it!” She hugged it tight to her chest. “Thanks so much!”

“Maybe you can wear it to dinner.”

“Dinner?”

“You wanted to hang out,” he said. “We can go get dinner at the Saloon sometime this week.”

Years later, Maru would remember that year as the best Feast of the Winter Star she’d ever had.


	4. To Shane, from Haley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily has an easy time deciding what to give Leah, but Haley has a much harder time with Shane and his gift.

Haley sleepily walked out of her bedroom to find the living room floor covered in garbage and vegetables. There was driftwood. There were piles of fiber. There were red cabbages and sunflowers and mushrooms. Emily was sitting on the floor, with her parrot climbing up her dress to her shoulder.

“What’s all this?”

“Leah’s my Winter Star friend.”

“Sweet Yoba, you’re giving her garbage and health food?! I thought I was petty! What did she do?”

Emily laughed so hard that the parrot screamed at her. “She asked for this stuff! She specifically mentioned wanting all of it for one project or another. She’s always all, ‘I need red cabbage for dye,’ or ‘I’d like to incorporate dried fiber into a sculpture,’ or looking for cool pieces of driftwood. I’m gonna throw a bolt of cloth in there, too.”

“I will never understand modern art,” Haley said.

“I hope you’ll eventually open your mind to it. It’s good stuff.” Emily grabbed Haley’s letter from the table. “Here’s your Winter Star letter.”

“Why is the corner all ripped up?”

“My friend,” Emily said, gesturing to the parrot. “They grabbed it from me when I was checking the mail. I tried to grab it back, and they held on.”

“They? Are you ever gonna find out whether that thing is a boy or a girl?”

“Not unless they lay an egg. DNA sex testing for birds is expensive and intrusive. Life has already been pretty unfair to my friend here, so I’m just trying to do the best I can by them.”

“Hmm.” Haley tore open the letter. “UGH!”

“What’s up?”

“I got Shane! He’s such a rotten little--”

“Haley!”

“He’s mean! He straight-up told me to go away! He’s, like, never been nice to me once!”

“Well…” Emily cringed. Haley was right. “He’s just…”

“Can I give him some of your garbage?”

Emily snorted, trying not to laugh.

“Maybe I’ll just get him a beer, that’ll shut him up.”

“Wait! Bad idea.”

“Huh?”

“Shane is trying to cut back on drinking.”

“Then why does he go to the bar every night?”

“To drink sparkling water and hang out with his friends.”

“Shane has friends?”

Emily shot Haley a withering glare.

“Yeah. Me. And Gus, Pam, he’ll talk to Clint, his aunt Marnie is there…”

“Then what should I get him?”

Emily walked over to the couch and sat down. She pressed her lips together, looking up as if she was searching the sky for the right words to say. After a long silence, Haley sat with her. “Shane is depressed,” Emily explained. “He’s fighting this intense internal battle, trying to find something to make life worth living, but he’s stuck in a rut.”

“Ugh. So he’s not gonna like anything I get for him.”

“Probably not, if it’s any good.”

“What?”

“The best gift for Shane would be something to change up his routine. Something to get him appreciating the world around him. Something like hiking boots, or a bicycle, or--”

“--a camera!” The sisters squealed in unison. The parrot screamed too, wanting to be part of the excitement. 

“Woah there, friend!” Emily cringed and shook her head. “That’s a little loud, buddy, I wouldn’t be surprised if you woke half the town up with that one.”

“I just got a new DSLR!” Haley ran to her room. “I could give him my old one! Or my point and shoot!”

“I think the point and shoot would be better. Easier to learn, and better results sooner.”

“Good call. Do we have any wrapping paper around here?”

“No, just wrap it in the newspaper.”

“Ugh! That looks so cheap!”

“But it’s more environmentally friendly than buying separate paper! I also have plenty of little cloth bags, if you want one of those.”

“Fine, I’ll take a bag.”

On the day of the Feast, Haley tracked Shane down right away. 

“Hey, Shane.”

“Oh. Emily’s sister.” Shane shoveled another bite of food in his mouth.

“I have a name, you know.”

He swallowed. “Are you looking for Emily? She’s over talking to Leah.”

“No, I’m your gift-giver!” She rolled her eyes.

“Oh. Okay.” He turned to face her. 

She set the small red cloth bag in Shane’s hand.

“What, did you run out of wrapping paper?” Shane chuckled.

“No, I just live with Emily, so my choices were this or wrapping it in newspaper.”

“That’s right,” he said. “She doesn’t believe in wrapping paper. She wrapped my birthday gift in the Sunday comics.” He opened up the bag and pulled out the camera.

“It’s a digital camera!” Haley said. “The charger and an extra memory card are in the bag, too.”

“I don’t really like this.”

Haley glared. “Have you ever tried using it?”

“It looks too hard. Besides, there’s nothing here worth taking pictures of.”

“Hey!” Emily walked up to Shane and Haley. “Take my picture!”

“Yeah, take Emily’s picture. I’ll show you portrait mode. Press the little button on the top to turn it on.” Haley waited while Shane turned the camera on. “Now press the down arrow a few times until you see a picture of a smiling face. That’s portrait mode. Then just center her on the screen and press the big button on top to take the picture.”

“Wait.” Shane reached his arm across the table and scooted Emily over. “I want you right off to the side of the tree. Now...think of the time Charlie flew up in the rafters and pooped on Marnie’s head.”

Emily giggled right as Shane snapped the picture. He showed it to Haley.

“Oh, Yoba,” she said, “That’s, like, really good!”

“Lemme see!” Emily crowded in. Shane flipped the camera around to show her. “Wow, she’s right, that is really good!”

“You’re not just saying that so I’ll keep using her crappy gift?”

Haley rolled her eyes.

“I have an idea,” Emily said. “Let’s go see Leah. Bring the camera.”

Emily and Shane hurried over to Leah’s table, with Haley trailing behind.

“Hey Leah, check out this picture!” Emily showed Leah the back of the camera.

“Oh, that’s amazing!” Leah took the camera. “I love the composition, with the tree centered in the frame and you just off to the side, that’s some beautiful arrangement. And the lighting is perfect.” She looked up. “Great job, Haley!”

Shane smiled.

“That was actually Shane,” Haley said. “He’s on portrait mode, not manually adjusting anything, but the composition was all him.”

Shane’s smile grew, both in size and in smugness.

“Shane!” Leah leaned forward in her seat and sat the camera down in front of him. “Keep taking pictures! You have such a great eye for composition!”

“Thanks.” He shifted his weight nervously. “What else is there to take pictures of, though? Emily’s gonna get sick of me sooner or later, chickens don’t stay still, and this town is just so damned ugly. The flowers are okay, I guess, but they’re so small.”

“Haley’s got some more things to teach you!” Emily said.

“Do I have to?”

Emily turned to Haley. “If I remember right, this model of camera should have some fast shutter speeds, right? He can use those for quickly moving chickens. Or is that slow shutter speeds for fast moving objects? And there’s also a micro mode, right?”

“Ugh. Fast shutter for fast action, macro lens for micro things.” Haley picked up the camera. “Come on, Shane. Gus just set up dessert, let’s grab a clean plate and some petit fours so I can show you how the macro lens works.”

So began a reluctant mentorship. They spent the rest of the evening messing with the camera, taking photos of the tree and the villagers. The day after the Feast, Shane and Haley were together all afternoon, taking photos at the Community Center. They rolled a ball back and forth in the Crafts Room to practice high shutter speeds. They zoomed in on tiny shells in the Fish Tank to practice using macro lenses. They took a few pictures of each other for portrait practice, though they stopped trying that once they realized how much they’d argue about Shane’s lack of a smile. Once a week, they’d meet somewhere in town, either to practice taking photos or to use Haley’s laptop to edit their work.

One afternoon in late Summer, an envelope arrived for Haley. Inside was a picture of a flamboyant blue hen, her feathers fluffed out happily. On the back, Shane had written, “This is great! Thanks for the camera, and for all your help.”


	5. To Sebastian, from Jas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jas and Marnie visit the Zuzu City Winter Market to get Sebastian's gift. Marnie shops for Jodi, Jas makes an unconventional choice, and then she embarrasses Sebastian in front of his mom.

“Jas, I have a letter for you.” Marnie walked into the kitchen with a stack of mail in her arms.

“It’s my Winter Star letter, isn’t it? I wish they’d tell us who was giving us presents. That way, we’d know who to look for.” Jas took the letter from Marnie’s hand.

“That would ruin the surprise, though!”

“No it wouldn’t! It wouldn’t say what they’re actually getting you, Aunt Marnie. That would be impossible.” She tore open the envelope.

“Who’s your Winter Star friend? I got Ms. Jodi.”

Jas unfolded the letter. “Where does it say?”

“Down at the bottom.”

“Oh! Sebastian. I know him! He’s Sam’s friend. What should I get him?”

“Well, what do you know about him?” 

Jas leaned back in her chair. “Um...I know he likes music. Because he’s in a band with Sam. And he wears black all the time.”

“That’s a start. Who could you ask to find--”

“OH!” Jas sat bolt upright. “And he thinks Abigail is pretty and he has a crush on her!” She giggled.

“How did you find that out?”

“Me and Vincent were spying on Sam! We put a cup against the wall and listened through it so we could know when he’s leaving! So then we could do a prank!”

“Jas!” Marnie sat down across from her niece.

“What? It wasn’t a mean prank, we just put sticky googly eyes on his things, like his notebook and his computer mouse and his trash can!” She laughed again. “So the trash can looked like a face with a big open mouth!”

“I don’t care about the prank, Jas, but spying on people is wrong.”

“We just wanted to know when we could go in Sam’s room without him finding out.”

“I know, sweetie. But you heard a conversation that you weren’t meant to hear. Listening to someone’s conversation is like reading their diary.”

“Nuh-uh, they’re sharing it!”

“Oh Yoba give me strength,” Marnie muttered. She took a deep breath. “Jas, do you remember when you made a birthday card for Vincent? And you didn’t want me to see it?”

Jas chuckled. “Yeah.”

“I didn’t read that card. You gave it to me and I put it right in an envelope, because it was between you and Vincent. It wasn’t my business. You would have been embarrassed or mad if I had read that card. That’s what a private conversation is like. It’s between the people talking and not anybody else.”

“Oh. Sorry, Aunt Marnie.” Jas looked down at the letter.

“It’s okay. Now you know,” Marnie said pointedly. “Think of some ideas for what to get Sebastian, because we’re going to the Zuzu City Winter Market tomorrow.”

“What?! Really?” Jas clapped. “Yay! I love that place! Can I get a hot chocolate? Can I get churros? Can I have a toy? It always smells so good in there, like trees and dessert!”

“I’m glad you like it,” Marnie said. “We’ll see about getting a little treat for you, but we’re going there to shop for Ms. Jodi and Mr. Sebastian. Think of what he might like.”

“Okay!” With that, Jas hopped down from her chair and ran to her room. She spent the rest of the evening writing and drawing in her notebook.

The next morning, Jas woke up early. She put on her fanciest red and green dress, and asked Marnie to braid her hair up with a red velvet bow. The Zuzu City Winter Market only comes once a year, after all, and she wanted to look her best. 

Marnie gave Jas a cloth bag of her very own, with a Winter Star tree printed on the outside. Jas spent the whole bus ride to the city talking about candy, hot chocolate, and toys, with Marnie gently reminding her that this was a shopping trip for other people. Every time she mentioned that, Jas would answer, “Well, I already know what I’m getting for Mr. Sebastian, so it’s okay.”

The bus dropped off right in front of the convention center where the Winter Market was held. As soon as the doors opened, Jas and Marnie were hit with the smells of cinnamon, chocolate, sugar, and pine.  
“I told you!” Jas squealed. “Trees and dessert! It’s the best smell!”

“It is nice.” Marnie grabbed a map from the information booth at the front. “Now, where are we going…?”

The Zuzu City Winter Market was a conglomeration of sales booths and food vendors, dotted with Winter Star trees and full of busy shoppers. There was a small skating rink in the center of the building, filled with wobbly-footed skaters. The booths sold everything from toys to ornaments, video games to clothing, and nearly everything in between.

“Let’s do your shopping first, Jas. I know exactly what I’m getting for Ms. Jodi, and I know that it will be heavy to carry around all day. Do you know what you’re getting for Mr. Sebastian?”

“A teddy bear!”

“Jas...that sounds more like a present for you.”

“Nuh-uh!”

“A teddy bear doesn’t seem like a good gift to get a grown man.”

“Well, it is.” Jas stopped and faced Marnie, counting off reasons on her fingers. “First of all, he is sad sometimes and a teddy bear would be good comfort. Second, Vincent said that one time Mr. Sebastian said he was tired because he couldn’t sleep. So a teddy bear would help him. Third, it is cute and soft, and everyone likes things that are cute and soft. Have you ever heard anyone say ‘I hate puppies’ or ‘I hate kittens’ or ‘I hate it when things feel soft?’ No.”

“You...have certainly given this some thought, haven’t you?”

“Yep! And you even told me it’s the thought that counts. So let’s get a teddy bear!”

“Well...if you insist…”

“I insist!” Jas raised her fist up in the air. “That’s how you insist, right? It means to demand forcefully, Miss Penny told me.”

“Yes, Jas…” Marnie giggled and took her hand. The pair walked toward the World of Plush booth, with Jas trying to run ahead and Marnie struggling to go slowly and stay out of people’s way.

As soon as the booth came into view, Jas wriggled out of Marnie’s grip and took off running. The booth was twice as big as most of the others, and covered top to bottom with stuffed animals. Jas made a beeline for the back of the booth, grabbed a teddy bear, and held it above her head. “This one!”

Marnie power-walked over to the booth, glaring at her niece.

“Sorry! I mean, can I please buy this one as a gift for Mr. Sebastian?”

“Yes you may,” Marnie said through clenched teeth, “but if you run off like that again, we are leaving without a treat. Do you understand?”

“Yes ma’am.”

On the day of the Feast of the Winter Star, Jas was about as well-behaved as a child expecting presents can be. She played with Vincent until it was time to eat. She reluctantly ate the vegetables that Marnie put on her plate, and discovered that some of them were actually pretty good. She ate three desserts, and would have eaten a fourth if Marnie hadn’t stopped her.

“Jas, honey, I’m going to give Ms. Jodi her gift now. Would you like to wait for me, or would you like to give Mr. Sebastian his gift now?”

“Now!” Jas jumped out of her seat. She grabbed the gift bag containing the teddy bear and ran across the town square to Sebastian. 

When she got there, he was busy talking to his mother. She tried to wait patiently, but was practically buzzing with excitement.

“Oh! Hi, Jas.” Robin stepped back. “Do you need something?”

“I’m Mr. Sebastian’s secret gift-giver!”

Robin chuckled. 

Jas lifted the bag up. “Here you go! Aunt Marnie says it’s the thought that counts so I thought really hard about what to get you!”

“Thank you!”

He reached into the bag, dug through the tissue paper, and pulled out a teddy bear. “...?”

“I thought you might want a teddy bear to comfort you if you get sad. And if you can’t sleep, then sometimes having a teddy bear makes it easier.”

Sebastian’s face softened as he listened.

“It’s wearing a shirt with music notes on it because I know you like music. I hear you and Sam play music when I go to Vincent’s house to play, and it sounds good! So she’s a musical teddy bear to make you think about music.”

“Thanks, I like this!” A smile spread across his face.

“And it’s purple like Abigail’s hair! Because you think she’s pretty!”

Sebastian’s cheeks flushed a deep red. Robin covered her mouth and turned away, trying not to laugh.

“Well, you certainly did give this a lot of thought!” Sebastian said. He ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll keep this teddy bear in my room so I’ll always have a hug waiting for me if I need one. It’s so soft and cute!”

“She,” Jas said. “She’s a girl teddy bear.”

“Right. She,” he said, emphasizing the word, “is so soft and cute. So I’ll keep her in my room. Thank you, Jas.”

“You’re welcome. Happy Feasting!” With that, Jas walked over to the tree, hoping to find her own secret gift-giver.

Sebastian looked up at Robin, who still had her back to him. “Stop laughing, Mom!”

Robin turned back around and broke into giggles. “I can’t help it!” She took a breath. “That was so adorable, but man, did she call you out!”

“Right?” Sebastian gave the teddy bear one last look, then put it back in the bag. “It really is a sweet gift, though.”

“Who’s your secret friend?” Robin asked.

“Hey Maru, catch!” He launched a small, soft package at Maru. It hit her right in the face.


	6. To Abigail, from Harvey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harvey and Maru get their butts handed to them during a busy day at the clinic, and Harvey gets his Winter Star letter.

Maru walked into the clinic in street clothes. She dropped a stack of mail on the counter, then ducked into the procedure room to change into her uniform. She pulled the curtain closed.

“Good morning, Maru!” Harvey’s voice was faint; he was inside the exam room.

“Morning, Dr. Harvey!”

“Did the order of saline come in yet?”

“No, just letters today!”

“What about the payment for the Mullner account?”

Maru sighed and shook her head. “With all due respect, I am in the procedure room changing! I’m running late and not quite in uniform, check the mail later!”

“Sorry!” Harvey hustled out of the room and ran to the counter. He grabbed a small bag from under the counter and ran upstairs to his apartment.

“Dr. Harvey?”

No response.

Maru rolled her eyes, stuffed her street clothes in her backpack, and walked to the counter. Harvey wasn’t there. The door opened.

“Is it an emergency?”

“Not exactly, but I’m not sure it can wait, either.” Jodi walked up to the counter, holding a towel over her left hand. She looked like she was in pain.

“What happened? Our first appointment isn’t until 10:00, so Dr. Harvey can see you in just a few minutes.”

“I was chopping veggies and I cut my hand. I think I need stitches.” She lifted the towel, then clamped down again as blood began to seep from the wound.

“Woah! Okay, let’s get you back to the procedure room right now.” She ushered Jodi back, grabbed a few supplies from a drawer, and headed toward the counter.

She thought about walking all the way back to the counter and calling Harvey’s apartment with the clinic phone, but decided better of it. She took a deep breath.

“Urgent in the procedure room!”

She heard a faint voice from upstairs. “Coming!”

She rushed back to Jodi’s room and started an IV. “Jodi, on a scale of one to ten, where one is very little pain and ten is the worst pain you’ve ever had, how much pain are you in now?”

“Oh, this is terrible. It’s about a four.”

“A...four?”

“I’ve given birth to a ten pound baby. This is excruciating and it’s also a four.”

“Yes, ma’am. How long ago did this happen?”

“I don’t know. As soon as it happened, I turned off the stove and wrapped it up, then walked over here. Twenty minutes, maybe?”

Maru heard Harvey at the counter. “Is this an emergency? Okay, I’ll have the nurse look at you when she has a chance.”

He walked into the procedure room. “Right behind you, Maru. Oh! You already got out a suture kit, thank you.” He turned to Jodi. “Good morning, Ms. Jodi. Sorry we have to meet like this. I understand you need stitches?”

As Harvey took over patient care, Maru walked out to the counter to see who Harvey had been talking to. She saw Clint leaning on the counter, Alex sitting in a chair, and Marnie and Jas walking in. It was gonna be one of those days. Luckily, she also saw two cups of coffee on the counter. Harvey had written an M on one of the cups.

Maru and Harvey worked all day without a break, taking sips of cold coffee in between appointments and urgent visits and frantic cleanings of the procedure room. They gave stitches, splinted injuries, and helped four different villagers with the flu between Harvey’s regularly scheduled appointments. 

With all the charting and cleaning and restocking they did, they didn’t finish work until after 5:00pm. By that point, they were both starving. They were snapping at each other, slamming doors, and feeling their feet throb whenever they sat down.

“Maru? What would you like to eat?” Harvey yelled from the upstairs apartment.

“Freakin’ anything! Sweet Yoba, I just want out of here so I can get some breakfast!”

Harvey mumbled something that Maru couldn’t quite understand.

“I still need to finish charting that finger dislocation and sanitize the exam room!” She yelled to nobody in particular.

Harvey walked up to the counter. “Exam room’s done,” he said. “Charts are filed, and dinner is ordered. There’s an order of pepper poppers waiting for you at the saloon.”

“Really…? Oh wow, Harvey! That is spectacular! Thanks so much!”

“You deserve it,” he said. “You ran your gluteus maximus off today. I couldn’t have handled it without you.”

“Thank you.” Maru wrote quickly. “We haven’t had a day like that in months. I didn’t even get a chance to look through the mail.”

“Oh! That!” Harvey picked up the stack of envelopes. “Power bill, payment from the Mullners, junk, junk, something from the newspaper that’s probably junk, and...this one’s from the Mayor.”

“Hey, that’s probably your Winter Star letter! I got mine yesterday morning.”

“Who’d you get?”

“Vincent.”

“Nice! You should be able to go toy shopping, that’ll be fun!”

Harvey and Maru locked up the clinic and walked the short distance to the Saloon. As soon as Gus saw them, he set out two orders of pepper poppers.

“Hey! Busy day in the clinic?” 

“What gave it away?” Maru asked sardonically. “The fact that we’re here at 6:00, or all the bandaged up customers?”

“Some days are like that,” Harvey said. “I’m just glad that Maru was with me.”

Maru nodded. Her cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk’s, and she was shoving pepper poppers in her mouth.

Harvey ate more slowly and delicately. He pulled his Winter Star letter out of his coat pocket and opened it up.

“Who’d you get?” Maru pushed her empty plate away.

“Abigail.”

“Oh, that’s not bad,” Maru said.

“It’s not. What do you know about Abigail?”

“Probably not as much as you do,” Maru said.

Harvey blushed a deep red. “I mean socially, not medically!”

Maru laughed. “Well, you do have an interesting perspective on everyone. I’m sure you know things that nobody else does.”

“I am too, but that doesn’t mean I’d know what kind of gift to give her!”

“You know,” Gus said, “She’s really into exploring, hiking, going in the mines…”

“I’d get her some hiking boots, but I do not condone anyone’s trips to the mines! Two of the injuries we had today involved people who had wandered into the mines and gotten attacked! Right, Maru?” 

Once again, Maru’s mouth was full. She nodded.

“She’s also told me that she’d like to look prettier.” Gus shrugged. “She’s complained to me about her face, her body, her hair…”

“Seriously?” Maru laughed in disbelief. “She’s gorgeous!”

 

“Well, you know, everyone has their hangups. This isn’t common knowledge, but I think it might have something to do with wanting to impress Sebastian.”

Maru let out a hearty cackle.

“I’m really out of my wheelhouse here!” Harvey laughed. “Her skin is in good condition, her weight is healthy for someone with her build, her hair is healthy...does she dye it? It would make sense that she would, but then again, her mother’s hair is green…”

“Not that I know of. She asked me about dyeing it once, and her mom said she used to have brown hair…” Maru looked up and out, as if trying to retrieve a memory that was miles away. “My brother never mentioned anything about it, and I’ve never seen her with roots showing.”

“Well, maybe a gem, then?” Gus shrugged. “She has a pretty amethyst necklace.”

“She eats them.” Harvey’s voice was flat. “It doesn’t cause her any distress, but I’d rather not buy an expensive gem and have her eat it in one bite.”

“Speaking of what she eats,” Gus said, “That girl loves her food!”

Harvey and Maru stayed at the saloon for another couple hours, talking to Gus and trying to figure out a present for Abigail. They ate a total of five plates of pepper poppers, drank wine, and decompressed from a crazy day at the clinic.

On the day of the feast, Harvey carried a gift-wrapped box. It was about the size of a shoebox. The way he carried it, it looked fragile. He found Abigail right away and set the box in front of her.

“Abigail, this is for you. I’m your secret friend. Be careful opening it, don’t turn it over.”

“Oh, interesting!” Abigail gently unwrapped the box and opened it up. Inside was a blackberry cobbler, a jar of farm-fresh whipped cream, and a handwritten card.

She gasped. “I seriously love this! You’re the best, Harvey!”

“Thanks.” 

Abigail shrugged and reached in for the card. Her face softened as she read: “Just like flour, sugar, and blueberries combine to form something wonderful, every part of you has combined to form a strong and beautiful young woman. Enjoy your gift and walk with confidence. I’ve included the recipe for the cobbler, too. --Harvey”


	7. To Harvey, from Pam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pam's Winter Star friend is her least favorite person in Pelican Town.

“Oi Gus! Gimme a pint of your strongest!” Pam took her usual seat at the bar.

“I’m a step ahead of you there, Pam,” he said. He set a beer down in front of her. “How was your day?”

“Meh. Farmer wanted to go to Calico Desert, but at least they didn’t stay all night like they sometimes do. I was able to get back in time for happy hour!” She took a sip of her beer. “Great stuff. I’m loving the Pale Ale from the farm.”

“So, did you get your Winter Star letter?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess I did. I was running late this morning, so I just grabbed it out of the mailbox and shoved it in my pocket. Then I forgot about it. I woulda washed it next time I went to the laundromat!” She reached in her back pocket and pulled out a folded envelope. “Did you get yours?”

“Yep.”

“Who’d you get?”

“Not saying, as they are an occasional visitor here.”

Pam opened the envelope and dropped it on the floor. She unfolded the letter. “Oh, Yoba’s ass!”

“Woah!” Gus held out a hand and lowered it down gently. “Watch your language, honey.”

“Sorry…” She tossed the letter on to the bar. “I just hate him so much!”

“Who?” Gus looked at the letter. “Harvey?”

“Yes!” She chugged her beer, drinking more than half in one gulp. “He’s such a know-it-all!” She deepened her voice and sat up straight, in an imitation of Harvey. “Don’t drink so much! Get some exercise! Wear your seatbelt! Lay off the frozen dinners!”

“Well, in his defense, those are good pieces of advice…”

“Yeah, but he’s so lazy!” Pam took another swig.

“Hmm?”

“You’d think a good doctor would be able to make a patient feel better and still do what they want with their body!”

Gus laughed nervously. “Yeah...you would, I guess. Any idea what you’re gonna get him?”

“A potato for his exhaust pipe?” Pam laughed. “Honestly, no idea. Maybe I’ll ask Penny’s friend. Mara, or Marlie…”

“Maru?”

“Maru! I knew it was somethin’ weird like that!” She finished her beer and slid the empty glass back to Gus. “I feel so bad, I always forget that poor girl’s name. I like her more than Harvey, because she’s so good to my Penny, but she’s a bit of a pompous know-it-all, too. Meh...I guess I’ll ask her tomorrow.”

“That might be a good idea. Or if you really don’t wanna talk to Maru, get him a gift card to the record store up in Zuzu. He’s really into jazz, we can talk music for hours.”

Pam put her head in her hands. “Oh honey. If I could actually afford things, this Winter Star stuff would be so much easier!”

“You’ll come up with something…”

The next morning came, and so did the headache. Pam had forgotten about the conversation the night before, and her Winter Star letter was tucked back in her jeans pocket.

“Penny!” Her yell reverberated against the trailer’s metal walls.

“Yes, Mom!” Penny rushed out of her bedroom, dressed and ready to go.

“My head hurts. Do we have any headache medicine?”

Penny zoomed past the TV and opened the medicine cabinet. “No, we don’t.”

“Son of a…” She reached in her jeans pocket and pulled out some money. “Alright. Go to Joja and get me a bottle.”

“I don’t have time! I’m already running late, I’m supposed to be at the library in ten minutes!”

“Well then what the hell am I supposed to do?!”

Penny filled a cup with water. She set it down in front of Pam and spoke plainly. “Your shift starts at 10:00. Leave within the next 20 minutes, and you’ll have time to stop at the clinic on the way. It’s Thursday so Maru’s there, and you won’t need to talk to Harvey.”

“Harvey…” She took a sip of water. “Oh, Yoba’s ass! I remember what happened last night, I gotta get Harvey a Winter Star gift!”

“Oh! That shouldn’t be too hard. He loves science fiction. The used book store in Grampleton has books for about 5G each.” She ran out the door. Then she popped her head back in. “Love ya, bye!”

“Love ya too…” Pam sighed and gulped the water down. She wouldn’t have time to get to JojaMart before her shift, so the clinic was her only choice. She pulled on her jeans, changed her shirt, and reluctantly headed out the door.

She was winded by the time she got to the clinic. She hated walking, and hated walking quickly even more. Still, her head was pounding and she had to get to the bus stop on time. She took a couple deep breaths and entered the clinic.

“Is it an emergency?” Maru stood behind the counter.

“Oh, Yoba, do I look that bad?” Pam rolled her eyes. “I just need some headache medicine!”

“One moment. Let me see what I have.” Maru turned around and looked at the shelves of pill bottles behind her. “Oh...this isn’t good.”

“What isn’t good? I need that medicine!”

“All we have is the bottle of 10,000 pills. I’ll need to get a smaller bottle for you and count some out. How many do you need?”

“How many can I get for 500G?”

“One hundred.”

“Do that, then.” Pam crossed her arms.

“Yes ma’am. It should only take a couple minutes, but you’re welcome to have a seat while I’m counting them out.” Maru took the bottle off the shelf and headed for the back room.

Pam walked over to the waiting room and sat down in a huff. “Just my luck...now I’m gonna have to hurry to the bus stop…”

The clinic door opened, and a chime played to alert the staff. Demetrius walked in and gave Pam a head nod and a smile. Pam nodded back. She heard footsteps coming from above, then down the stairs.

Harvey rushed behind the counter, carrying a small black plastic tray full of food. He set it down by the computer and turned to Demetrius. “Good morning! Do you have an emergency?”

“No, sir, just need an Energy Tonic, please.”

Harvey reached under the counter, handed Demetrius his tonic, and took the money in what appeared to be one fluid motion. With a quick goodbye, Demetrius left.

“Pam! Good morning, do you have an emergency?”

“No, Doctor, Maru’s helping me.” 

“Good.” Harvey picked up his tray and his fork.

She took a closer look at the doctor’s tray. “HEY!” Pam rushed to the counter. “That’s a frozen dinner! That’s exactly the type of frozen dinner you tell me not to eat! You should know better! You should be eating fruits and veggies, ya know-it-all!”

Harvey hung his head. “Yeah. You’re absolutely right.” He picked at the limp, salty meat on the tray. “It would be easier if I didn’t live alone, but I just work so much…”

“Oh, until 3:00?” Pam sneered. “There are times I don’t get back from the desert until 10:00 or later!”

“Well, the clinic is open from 9:00 until 3:00. That means I’m here from 8:00 to 4:00, preparing to open the clinic, working, then closing. From 4:00-8:00 in the evening, I’m available for housecalls. I have to do my charting sometime. And I’m always on call for emergencies. If I start chopping up a salad, and then someone has an emergency and we wind up at Zuzu General, my veggies go bad. It’s happened before. And if I put a pot on the stove and someone broke a leg, if I didn’t turn the stove off, that could be the end of my house! It’s a very real possibility.”

“Huh. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Believe me,” Harvey said, “I wish I was eating a Bean Hotpot right now. Or some Crispy Bass and sauteed potatoes with truffle oil.” He paused and smiled to himself. “Or a Super Meal. That would really hit the spot! And it’s so healthy, too!”

“Super Meal, huh? I think I saw that on Queen of Sauce the other day.”

“It’s so good. But it just takes so much prep work...I rarely have time to chop up all those veggies.”

“You’re that busy with house calls?”

“Well, yeah. Kids get tummy aches, elderly people can’t walk to the clinic, accidents happen and people get hurt, the flu comes around and I don’t want it in my clinic...and everyone I see, whether it’s for an appointment here or an appointment at home or an emergency anywhere, has a write-up of the visit in their chart so I can keep track of their history. Each write-up takes at least 20 minutes, more if it’s complicated.”

“Huh.”

“Remember Marie, who used to live in the beach shack before Elliott moved in? When she had her twins, I had to do three separate write-ups. I had to make two charts from scratch that day.”

“I do remember her! And the babies! Cute little buggers.”

“I was awake the whole day before, running the clinic and doing house calls. I had just started chopping veggies for a salad when she called me and said the babies were coming. There was trouble, so I had to call an ambulance and get to Zuzu General and perform surgery. I was there, working on Mom and the babies, all night. When I got back to the clinic at 7:00 the next morning, my veggies had wilted and the dressing had turned. I was up for 32 hours over those two days. Maru caught me dozing off in the exam room and she closed the clinic for the day.”

“I think I remember that. No wonder you always get frozen dinners!”

“Right?” Harvey took a small bite. “They’re definitely not my favorite, and they’re not healthy at all. But they get me through,” he said sadly.

“Pam?” Maru handed Pam a bottle of pills. “100G, please.”

“I thought you said 500G?”

“Yeah, I did.” She handed Pam an envelope. “We’re giving you a discount, though. Here’s a voucher for double your money at Pierre’s, along with recipes for Super Meal, Glazed Yams, and Autumn’s Bounty.”

Pam snatched the envelope away. “Now this is just absolutely despicable! You think I’m some kind of charity case?!”

She stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

“You’re welcome,” Maru said, rolling her eyes.

Pam drove Emily to Calico Desert that day. While Emily was visiting Sandy, Pam had nothing to do but sit at the bus stop and stew. She didn’t need Maru’s pity. She didn’t need to be seen paying at Pierre’s with a voucher. But she did need a present for Harvey, soon, because the Feast was just a couple days away. 

Luckily, Emily had to work. Pam made it back to Pelican Town at 3:00, and hung a sign on the ticket vending machine saying “Be Back Soon.” She walked over to Pierre’s, taking care to avoid Maru as she left the clinic.

“Pam! Hi!” Pierre waved from behind the register. “Anything I can help you with?”

“Yes, sir. I need a bok choy, an artichoke, and some cranberries.” She grabbed a basket. 

“Artichokes and cranberries are in the bins,” Pierre said, “and the bok choy is in the cold section along the wall.”

Pam rushed through, grabbing her ingredients, as well as a few apples and a bunch of grapes. She set her basket on the counter and let Pierre check her out.

“That’ll be 800G, please.”

Pam looked around nervously. There were people in the store, and she didn’t want them to see what she was going to do. She took her money out of her pocket, along with the envelope holding the voucher. “Now, I’m only doing this so I can get a good deal,” she said. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “It’s not that I can’t afford it otherwise, it’s just that I got this coupon…” She handed him the voucher.

“Oh!” Pierre took the voucher and smiled. “I see these all the time. A few of your neighbors have come in with these things lately! Just glad to get people in my shop.” He bagged up Pam’s produce in a special reusable Feast of the Winter Star tote bag and sent her off with a smile.

As soon as Pam left the store, he took the voucher out again. He examined it closely. He had never seen one before in his life, but the fine print said that the Ferngill Republic Health Authority would pay him back for it. He made a mental note to talk to Abigail about it, since she did the books for the store.

On the day of the feast, Pam carried the same reusable tote she’d gotten at Pierre’s the other day. She was one of the first people there, and she went right up to Harvey.

“Hi, Pam! Happy Feasting! How are you?”

“I’ll be better once I can stop luggin’ this thing around!” She set her tote up on the table. 

“I know how you feel, my gift for my secret friend is fragile and I’d love to deliver it, but they aren’t here yet. Who’s your gift for?”

“You! Why else would I be at your table?” Pam laughed.

“Oh! Thank you. May I open it?”

“Be my guest.”

Harvey reached in the bag and felt a box. He pulled it out. It was a box marked “JojaMart Semi-Fresh Donuts,” but he could see apples and grapes through the cellophane window. 

“There’s more,” Pam said. She reached in and pulled out one of the take-out containers from the Saloon. “I promise it isn’t leftovers. I had Gus gimme a box because I don’t have any plastic containers of my own.”

Harvey opened the take-out box. Inside was a fresh, beautifully arranged Super Meal. He gasped. He couldn’t help it. “This is my favorite stuff! It’s like you read my mind!”

“Thought you’d like that, we were just talkin’ about Super Meals the other day. I got the best apples and grapes I could find, too, so you’ll have somethin’ healthy to snack on.”

“This is amazing. Thank you so much, Pam.” He paused to gather his thoughts. “You know, if you made yourself one of these every day, you could be off the Pravoloxinone by Summer.”

“Yeah, but then I’d have to make myself one of those every day,” she grumbled.


	8. To George, from Vincent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent uses espionage and goes on a super-secret mission to get George's gift.

“Mom, I got the mail!” Vincent proudly held a stack of letters.

“Thank you! Careful with that, though, there could be important stuff in there.” Jodi took the stack from Vincent. “Oh, I was right. Pension, bills, a little something from Caroline...and that’s right, it’s time for Winter Star letters!”

“Yay! Can I open mine?”

“Yes you may. I’ll put everyone else’s on the desk here.” She handed Vincent his letter.

“I hope I get Jas!” He tore open his letter. “Or Sam! Or Sebastian!” He unfolded it, tossing the envelope on the ground.

“Pick that up, please.”

“Yes ma’am.” He picked up the envelope, then went back to his letter. “George?”

“Oh! Mr. Mullner!”

“The old guy in the wheelchair? That’s no fun!”

Jodi sighed. “The Feast of the Winter Star is about more than what’s fun for you, Vincent. It’s a chance for all of us to give to each other.”

“But I’d rather give to Jas.”

“I know, honey.” She sat down on the couch and patted the cushion beside her. “But, hey, think of this as a secret spy mission!”

Vincent jumped up by his mom. “What?”

“You have to use your intelligence and cunning to figure out what George would want, then get it for him without him knowing! You can’t just guess, because he may not like it. You can’t ask him directly, because that would ruin the surprise. You have to use…” she leaned in conspiratorially. “...espionage!”

“Espy-what?”

“Espionage. Spying. Act like a secret agent, gathering information and sneaking around!”

“COOL!” He hopped down from the couch and ran out the door. “I’m gonna do espionage!”  
His first stop was the dog pen outside the Mullners’ house. Alex was there, throwing snowballs for the dog to catch in his mouth.

“Hey Alex, can you help me with espionage?”

“Huh?”

“I wanna spy on your grandpa!”

“That’s a terrible idea!” Alex laughed. “He’s a veteran of the First Gotoro War. He doesn’t talk about it much, but his job was gathering intelligence. Spying. So, he wouldn’t like getting spied on himself, and you’d probably get in trouble.”

“Well,” Vincent said, giving Alex a sly grin, “what would he like?”

“To be left alone, mostly. I think he’d be happiest sitting in front of the TV with a warm blanket, watching his favorite show, and eating scrambled eggs with leeks the way Granny likes them.” Alex paused. “If you really wanna spy on someone, how about Haley?”

“Maybe I’ll do that. Thanks!”

Next, he found Evelyn, decorating the Winter Star tree.

“Hello, dear!” She patted him on the head. “Would you like to help decorate?”

“Yes please! But I can’t reach the top branches.”

“Neither can I. We’ll have Alex get on the ladder and do those later.”

After a few minutes of silent decorating, the espionage started. “Soooo,” Vincent asked, “What are you hoping to get under the Winter Star tree this year?”

“Maybe...a fairy rose bush! It would look so beautiful in my garden. Or a chocolate cake!” She giggled.

“What about your husband? What does he wish for?”

“Every time I ask him, he says he wants some blasted peace and quiet. But I know for a fact that he’d like a warmer sweater. And here’s a secret: He really loves leeks! They’re hard to get this time of year, though. The Zuzu City Winter Market’s farmer’s market section might have some. I saw them there last year.”

“Okay! Bye!” With that, Vincent took off running.

The next morning, the snow was falling. Vincent bundled up as well as he could; he had a coat and a hat, but no gloves or winter boots. He emptied out his piggy bank and stuffed the money in his coat pocket.

Jodi stopped him at the door. “Vincent, honey, where are you going?”

“Out to play.”

“Okay, just be back by dinner.”

“Yes ma’am. Bye, I love you!”

Vincent walked out of the house, toward the backyard...then sprinted to the bus stop. He’d done it! He was officially on a secret mission. He’d be going to the Zuzu City Winter Market...as soon as he figured out which bus went to Zuzu City.

“Excuse me, Pam?”

“What’s up, kid?”

He pointed at her bus. “Does that bus go to Zuzu City?”

“No, the Zuzu bus stops across the street. Comes every hour on the half hour.”

“Thank you!” Vincent carefully looked both ways, then walked across the street.

Just then, Sam left the backyard. He was heading toward Sebastian’s house, until he saw his little brother hanging out by the mine cart. He jogged over there, slipping in the snow and flailing his arms to catch his balance. Vincent giggled.

“Bro! Whatcha doing out here?”

“I’m going on a secret mission! I did some espionage and found out that George really likes leeks! He’s my Winter Star friend so I’m going to the Zuzu City Winter Market to get him some.”

“Oh really? Do Mom and Dad know about this?”

“No, that’s why it’s a secret mission! They’ll be so glad I didn’t make one of them go!” Vincent beamed. “I even brought my own money.”

“Woah, dude, no! Think about this. You’re a little kid! Like, I get what you’re trying to do, but you can’t just take the bus to the City on your own! What if something happened? You could get kidnapped! Or lost! Or you could freeze to death! Mom and Dad would kill you if they found out!”

Vincent’s lower lip started to tremble. 

Sam continued. “Look. I know you wanna go to the Winter Market and get a gift. I don’t have anything going on today, so I can go with you, but next time, you gotta ask! You’re too young to be taking the bus to the City by yourself!”

“Yes, sir.” Big tears fell from Vincent’s eyes.

Sam wrapped his little brother up in a hug. “Sir?” 

“Well, you’re acting like a grownup.”

“I kind of am, huh?” He chuckled. “It’s just because I love my little bro and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

Vincent sniffled. “Am I in trouble?”

“Not this time.” Sam ruffled his hair. “You had no idea. And you lucked out, ‘cause I’m the one who found you.”

Just then, the Zuzu City bus pulled up. Sam got on first and paid for both tickets.

“I brought money for my ticket,” Vincent said quietly.

“Well, now you don’t have to spend it on a ticket. Want a window seat?”

“Yeah.” Vincent sat down near the back of the bus, by a window. When Sam sat down beside him, he said, “I even knew how many G to bring. I brought 100 for the ticket there, 100 for the ticket back, and 50 for some leeks.” He crossed his arms. “I knew what I was doing…”

“You did.” Sam put his change in his pocket. “Good job planning ahead and making sure you had enough money. Now you can spend those extra G on lunch.”

“Oh yeah! Lunch!” Vincent perked up. “Maybe I could get a hot dog! And some cranberry candy!”

“I bet you could.”

When the bus pulled up to the downtown stop, right in front of the market, Sam hopped out in front of Vincent. He picked Vincent up and swung him over the curb, then set him down on the wet sidewalk.

“Hey, can I give you a shoulder ride?”

“YEAH!” Vincent jumped up. “Um. Why?”

“Because this snow isn’t messing around. See how it’s starting to stick to the sidewalk? You don’t have winter boots. I don’t want you to get your shoes wet. Having wet shoes and socks is miserable.” He turned Vincent around and put his hands under his brother’s armpits. “Now get ready to jump. One! Two! Three! Jump!”

Vincent jumped, and Sam lifted him onto his shoulders. “Yeah! This is awesome. But wait! You don’t have snow boots either!”

“Correct! I have wool socks, though, and you don’t. It’ll still be unpleasant, but not miserable.”

“Is Mom gonna buy me boots?”

“I dunno. Money’s tight.”

“Are you gonna buy boots this winter?”

“I hope so.”

“But you go to work and get a paycheck!”

“That’s true. But the paycheck has to pay for more than just boots. It’s a lot of boring grownup stuff that you don’t really need to hear. We have enough for food and electricity and house payments, we have enough for everything we need, but sometimes we don’t have enough for everything we want.”

“Oh.”

The rest of the walk to the market was silent, with Sam concentrating on staying out of snow piles and slush puddles, and Vincent taking in the big-city atmosphere.

The farmer’s market portion of the Zuzu City Winter Market was outside, to take advantage of the natural refrigeration. It was the size of a city block, covered by a large tent to divert the snow, so Sam put Vincent down. Some of the sellers had professional-looking booths; others sold produce from boxes stacked on pallets, folding tables, and the backs of pickup trucks.

Sam gave Vincent a light pat on the back, aiming him toward a pickup truck full of foraged goods. There were mushrooms, chestnuts, spice berries, crystal fruits, and leeks. The leeks were way in the back. There was an old woman whose head was wrapped in a scarf standing by the truck. Vincent timidly approached her.

“Um, excuse me ma’am?”

Her face lit up. “Yes, can I help you?”

“How much are the leeks?”

“60G a piece.”

“Well, what if I want a whole one?”

Sam snorted. He couldn’t help it.

The lady took three leeks out of the truck and explained patiently. “Each leek is 60G. I have a bunch of them. So each piece of the bunch is 60G. This one is 60G,” she said, holding a leek out, “and so are each of these. One for 60, two for 120, three for 180.”

“Oh! Okay. Can I please have two?”

“Yes you may.” 

The old lady looked at Sam. “That’ll be 120G, please.”

Sam gestured to Vincent. “Talk to my brother, he’s buying!”

Vincent pulled 120G out of his pocket and pressed it into the old lady’s palm. “Here you go, ma’am!”

She giggled. “Thank you very much, sir!”

After lunch and a cranberry candy, the boys headed home. Once again, Sam carried Vincent on his shoulders. Vincent was full of energy and questions on the bus ride home. Sam was more subdued, having gotten a blister on his foot from his wet socks. He was texting back and forth with Sebastian and Abigail, bowing out of pool night at the Saloon since he didn’t want to make the walk. All he wanted was dry socks and warm blankets.

On the day of the Feast, Vincent was having trouble holding it together. He wanted his gift, and he wanted it bad. Jodi tried her best to keep him in line, and Jas played with him before dinner, but he was a handful.

When George arrived, Vincent ran up to Jodi. “Mom! Gimme my bag! I can give Mr. Mullner his present!”

Jodi spoke flatly. “That is not how we ask for things, Vincent.”

“Sorry, Mom. Can I please have my bag?”

“Yes you may.”

Vincent grabbed the bag from Jodi’s hand and ran over to Sam. “Hey Sam! Let’s go give Mr. Mullner my present!”

Sam laughed. “Sure! Why am I going?”

“Because you helped with my super secret mission!”

“Okay!”

The boys walked over to George. Vincent held out the bag. “Hi, Mr. Mullner! I’m your secret Winter Star friend! I used espionage to find out what you liked, and then I went on a super secret mission to go get it! And Sam helped!”

George took the bag. He looked inside to see two beautiful leeks. “This is my favorite thing! Thank you!” He patted Vincent on the head. “And, Sam, thank you for your help. I bet you had to go all the way to Zuzu City to get these!”

“Yep!” Vincent beamed. “We went on the bus, and went to the Winter Market, and there was an old lady with a scarf on her head! And she said it would be 60G for a piece of leek but then I asked for a whole one and she gave it to me!”

“Well done, young man!” George laughed.

“Thanks! Are you my secret gift-giver?”

“Nope.”

“Do you know who is?”

“Nope.”

“Oh. Okay.” With that, Vincent ran back toward his table, stopping at Harvey’s table to ask him and Pam whether either of them was his secret gift-giver.

George left his spot and started making the rounds, showing off his leeks to anyone who would pay him some attention. He showed Harvey, who was glad to see him enjoying some fresh produce. He showed Gus, Elliott, and Leah, who started talking recipes. He showed Abigail, who was just surprised that George was talking to her.

He saw the farmer, giving Sam his gift, and rolled right up to them. “Look at these beautiful leeks! Vincent gave them to me! Sam helped out by taking him to the city so he could get them from the farmer’s market. Tell ‘em about it, Sam!”

Sam was speechless. George had interrupted Sam and the farmer, right when the farmer was giving Sam his gift. The gift was a pair of Thermal Boots, the boots Sam had been eyeballing for years but could never afford.

Sam blinked hard, swallowed, and then spoke. “Dude, I got a blister on my foot when I took Vincent to the city because my sneakers aren’t waterproof. Thank you so much!” He dropped the box and wrapped the farmer up in a hug. 

George turned quickly and cruised over to Robin’s table. He held up the leeks. “Look what Vincent got me! Ms. Jodi is raising that little boy right!”


	9. To Emily, from Alex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex needs to find a gift for Emily. He thinks he finds a good one, but her reaction thoroughly confuses him.

It was late afternoon when Alex knocked on Haley’s door. She looked through the peephole before opening it.

“Just a second!” Haley ran to the bedroom, slicked on some lip gloss, took down her hair and tousled it, then finally opened the door.

“What’s up, Haley?” Alex was carrying an envelope.

“What’s up with you?” She put a hand on her hip. “I’m trying to make this Pink Cake recipe so I have something to bring to the Feast of the Winter Star.”

“Yeah, it’s about that,” Alex said nervously. “I got your sister’s name. I don’t know what to get her.”

“Maki rolls.” Haley breezed back into the kitchen and grabbed her wooden spoon.

“Um...really?”

“Fish tacos.” She returned to mixing her cake. “Or maybe a slime egg or one of those strange buns with a snail inside…”

“Gross! She’s actually into that stuff?”

“No, duh, I’m being sarcastic.” Haley took a second to fold some diced melon into her cake batter. “But she made me clean the bathroom last night just because I had my straightening iron out on the counter, like, where else should I put it when it’s cooling down?” She rolled her eyes. “And then she made quinoa and sorghum with wild horseradish for dinner, it was so disgusting.”

“Okay, yeah, that’s pretty gross.” Alex plopped down in a kitchen chair. “Really, though, what does your sister like? I don’t wanna be a jerk.”

“She likes fabric, but that’s hard to get. She’s always asking for stuff that her parrot could chew up and play with, like wood and cardboard boxes. Um…” Haley paused for a second. She poured the cake batter in a couple cake pans. “...oh! Crystals and gems, she likes those!”

“Huh. Like...diamonds?”

“She actually likes amethysts and rubies more.” Haley opened the oven and slid the cakes in, then went to the sink to wash her hands. 

“Okay...but where do I get those?”

“I’ve heard that you can find them in the mines. Or you might be able to buy one off Clint.”

“I dunno, neither of those sound like great ideas. The mines are dangerous, and Clint is, like, super hung up on Emily. I don’t want him to know that I’m getting his girl a gift.”

“Alex.” Haley put both hands on her hips. “Emily is NOT Clint’s girl. They hang out sometimes, but that’s about it. I don’t even know if he like-likes her. ”

“He TOTALLY does. Haven’t you seen the way he looks at her?”

“I don’t pay attention. I’m not his friend and I’m not here for her drama. I have enough of my own.” She laughed. “Just go to the blacksmith shop and buy an amethyst or something!”

“Yeah, but Guy Code…”

“What even is that?”

“Well, imagine if Abigail or Maru was asking you for help buying something for your crush…”

“I’d let them. I don’t own him, I don’t have exclusive rights to him, and the Mayor decides who gets who a present anyway.” She paused and smirked. “I’d just get him a better gift and give it to him the day before.”

Alex laughed. “Who is your crush, anyway?”

“Let’s just not go there.” She paused. “You could totally go in the mines if you had someone with you, I know a few people who go there all the time.”

“Eh...maybe I could get Emily some hair dye?”

“Oh, Yoba, no!” Haley laughed. “She’s all woo-woo about chemicals! Like, we clean with vinegar and essential oils instead of bleach!”

“Then why does she dye her hair blue?”

“She doesn’t, it’s natural. Our mom has blue hair, too.” She ran a hand through her own hair, letting it fall on her shoulder. “I got my dad’s blonde, I totally lucked out.”

“Yeah, you did!” Alex agreed enthusiastically.

“Seriously, though, just go to the blacksmith shop and get an amethyst. Emily will love it.”

“I guess I could...” Alex stood up. “Hey, the Tunnelers made the playoffs this year and I got tickets to a game! They’re playing this Sunday in Zuzu City. Wanna go?”

“Probably,” she said coolly. She started gathering the dirty dishes from the cake. 

“Probably…?”

“Call me Friday, I’ll know by then whether I have plans.”

“Oh. Huh. Okay, I’ll talk to you then.”

As soon as Alex shut the door, Haley squealed with excitement. “He wants to take me to a game!!”

Alex left Haley’s house and headed toward the mountain. There was no way he was going to the blacksmith shop; he didn’t want to start any drama with Clint. Then again, he didn’t want to go in the mines, either. He knew there were monsters down there, and he’d heard stories of the farmer having to be dragged out.

He’d have to get some help. He found it in the form of Maru, who was taking water samples in the lake.

“Hey, Maru. Are you busy?”

She was up to her elbows in icy water. “Yeah. What’s up?”

“Well, I’d like to go into the mines to get a gift for Emily. Would you be able to help me?”

“Well…” She raised a sample cup out of the water, then turned it over in disgust. “Yoba’s butt, this one has a candy wrapper in it!” She clumsily grabbed the candy wrapper with the thick, unwieldy rubber gloves that reached nearly to her armpits. “Give me a few minutes. I’m grabbing some water samples for my dad, he’s studying the metabolism of the lake’s microorganisms.”

Alex took the candy wrapper. “And not candy wrappers, I’m assuming…”

“No. That’s just rude and irresponsible.”

“I’ll throw this away, then.”

“Thanks. I’ll meet you in my living room when I’m done.” She plunged her gloved hand into the icy water again, along with a sample cup.

About half an hour later, Alex and Maru were in the mines. Alex was armed with a crowbar and Robin’s old pickaxe. Maru, out in front, had a sonar gun. She used it to scan rocks and see which had holes under them or gems inside of them. She also shot it at the monsters, who would then leave her and Alex alone since the sonar made her sound like a bat.

“Hey Alex, this might be something!” Maru looked at the back of the sonar gun.

“Okay!” Alex jogged up to the rock. He heard a screech. A bat was diving straight for his head!

Maru calmly shot the bat with the sonar. “Don’t mind us, we’re just normal bats, doing normal bat things...like busting up rocks.” She laughed.

“Don’t talk!” Alex hissed. “It’ll find us!”

“I’ll sonar it off again,” she said. “Bats are very sensitive to the sonar, they keep their distance. Nobody wants a mid-air collision.”

“If you say so…” Alex lifted the pickaxe and busted the rock open. “Aww...just a ladder. Damn.”

“Hey, it’s another chance to find what we need.” Maru shimmied down the ladder.

Alex practically jumped in after her. “How can you be so calm?”

“Experience.” She quickly checked a few rocks right by the ladder. “I come down here with just the sonar and the pickaxe all the time, and find some good gems.”

“You don’t happen to have an amethyst at home, do you?”

“I have about five,” she said, “three in a radiation detector and two in a…thing that I’m not ready to talk about yet.”

“Oh. So none of them are available?”

“Nope.” Maru reached out her hand. “Here, I’ll take the pickaxe and check this rock.”

Alex handed the pickaxe over without a word.

Maru broke the rock, revealing a topaz. “Oh, hey, cool!”

“What’s that?”

“Topaz. Fairly common, but still prized for its beauty. And this is a big one!”

“Oh! You think Emily would like that?”

“Probably…”

“Close enough, I wanna get out of here!” Alex grabbed the topaz. “Thanks for your help. Want me to take the pickaxe on the way out?”

“No thanks, I’ll keep it with me. I still have a few more things to get.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?”

Maru rolled her eyes. “I dragged the farmer out from the 86th Floor yesterday. I’ll be fine. But thanks for your concern, you can get out of here.”

With that, Alex practically vaulted up the few ladders he needed to get to the elevator. He jogged home with the topaz, dropped it in a box, and wrapped it up.

The day of the feast was always hard for Alex, and this year was no exception. Seeing all the happy families and loving couples was hard for him. He wanted his mom. He wanted someone to hold him. It was supposed to be such a happy time, and for everyone else, it was.

He got his gift from Elliott, a book about a dog. It seemed like something he could actually read, which was nice, but he was honestly hoping for a Tunnelers jersey or some conditioning equipment for his weight room.

Still, maybe Emily would like his present. He found her and Haley eating dinner and chatting with Gus.

Haley snuck away for a second. “Alex!” She wrapped him up in a hug.

“Haley! Hi! You look great. I’m just dropping off Emily’s gift.”

“What did you end up getting her?”

“Topaz.”

“You did good!”

Alex walked over to the table and shifted his weight nervously. “Hey Emily.”

“Hi! Happy Feasting! How are you?”

“I’m alright.”

“What are you hoping to find under the Spirit Tree?”

“Oh, I already got my gift. Want yours? I’m your secret friend.”

“Sure!”

Alex handed her the box. She carefully unwrapped it and pulled out the topaz. “This gift is fabulous! Thank you so much!” She hugged him tightly. “I can feel its healing energy already!” She took a step back. “Topaz encourages self-realization. It strengthens psychic abilities.” She put both hands on the topaz and closed her eyes. “It brings emotional balance, enhances your sacral and crown chakras, opens you to soul love, and helps you,” she said, suddenly slowing her speech, “gain wisdom...from the vagaries of fate.”

Her eyes snapped open. “Alex, you need to keep this.”

“Why?”

Emily pressed the topaz into his hands, then used her hands to close his around the stone. “I feel a great imbalance in you. Your soul needs healing. You have been pushed and pulled by fate. The universe has sent your soul everywhere except where it really needs to be.”

“Huh?” Alex glanced around, trying to catch Haley’s eye, she had already wandered off toward Shane’s table.

“Trust me. Keep this topaz in your left pocket. Once a day, meditate on its energy. Hold it in your hand when you feel lost. It will help you.” Emily gave Alex a peck on the forehead. “I’m gonna go give Leah her gift now. Remember what I said.”

“But...now you don’t have a present?” He cocked his head sideways like a dog.

“It’s the thought that counts. Thanks for thinking of me, happy healing!”

In a way, he did feel better. He’d gone from sad to thoroughly confused. He dropped the topaz in the left pocket of his jeans, as instructed, and went to grab a plate of food.


	10. To Gus, from Abigail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abigail, Sam, and Sebastian collaborate on a gift for Gus.

“Hey guys, before you start playing pool, can I ask you a favor?” Abigail sat on the couch at the saloon, giving a furtive glance up front before meeting Sam and Sebastian’s eyes.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Sebastian sat on the couch next to Abigail.

“I got my Winter Star letter today, and Gus is my secret friend.”

Sam piped up from the Joja Cola machine. “Get him a diary so we can steal it and read all the drama!”

“Oh, Yoba, that would be amazing!” Sebastian cackled.

“I know, right? But we’d probably hear more about Pam and Willy and Clint than we ever wanted to know, and none of the good stuff. Besides, our parents hang out here!” Abigail cringed. “I already know what I want to get him, and that’s why I need your help.”

“Okay, what are you thinking?” Sebastian asked.

Abigail reached into her shirt and pulled out a little memo book. “Ok, so, we’ve all complained about the music here. It’s repetitive, it’s twangy, it’s really the only annoying thing about this place. Every once in a while, the farmer or Lewis will put a coin in the jukebox, which is great, but there aren’t enough songs. So, I was thinking we could fill it with some of our own songs!”

“Yeah!” Sam cheered out loud. “The noise rock stuff we’ve been doing lately?” 

“I was hoping to do more than that. I mean, of course I’m gonna put our entire new LP on there,” Abigail said, “but would you also mind recording some of the older stuff we’ve done?”

“Oh!” Sebastian’s face brightened. “Like the country and pop and dance ideas we’d been kicking around?”

“Exactly! Which songs wouldn’t you mind playing? I know it’s been a while…”

“You’re An Autumn Wind.” Sebastian smiled. His eyes looked faraway and wistful. “I love that one.”

“Got it.” Abigail wrote on the memo pad.

“House of Booty!” Sam raised his arms above his head and started dancing. “I freaking DARE someone to request that, we’ll bring this place down!”

Sebastian and Abigail both laughed. Abigail wrote it down.

“How about Ferngill Girls? I mean, I know it’s a cover, but I have another idea.” Abigail waved Sam over. “I was thinking of adding audio samples into the songs, especially this one. We could record sounds and people around town, then mix them into the instrumental breaks. You know, bullfrogs and trains passing for You’re An Autumn Wind, thunder for Rumbling Hearts...and Ferngill Girls could have recordings of some of the ladies in town saying what they love about Pelican Town or the Valley or the Ferngill Republic...you know, happy, heartwarming stuff.”

“I didn’t know you had it in you to be heartwarming!” Sam laughed. “Seriously, though, that’s a super cool idea.”

“Thanks!”

“We only have a week to pull this off, though,” Sebastian said. “And some of these sounds just don’t happen in winter.” He paused. “Wait! I bet Demetrius has access to some good recordings. He’s mentioned something about recording the sounds that come from the lake. I’ll ask Maru about it.”

“Want me to go talk to girls?” Sam ran a hand through his hair.

“I thought you’d volunteer for that!” Abigail jotted down a couple more notes.

“You know what? Let’s just go back to Sam’s house and get started! This is a cool idea, we should be able to get about 20 songs done, counting our LP and the stuff we’ve already recorded.” Sebastian stood and lifted his pool cue toward the rack on the wall.

“Wait!” Abigail put her hand on Sebastian’s wrist. “Pool balls make a cool sound when they break. I have a recorder on my phone, I’ll set it on the side of the table. Will you please break before we put everything away?”

“Sure!”

Sam lifted the triangle off the balls. Abigail set her phone down and gave a thumbs-up. Sebastian shot the cue ball and broke, resulting in a loud, crisp sound. Abigail did a silent happy dance, picked up her phone, and helped the guys put the balls and cues away.

They hurried to Sam’s house. Sam unlocked the door, then shushed his friends, expecting to find a silent, sleeping house. His dad was wide awake, though, sitting on the couch and writing in a journal. 

“Yo Dad! My friends and I are gonna do some work on a Winter Star project for Gus, okay?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “In fact, I have an idea!” He ran to his room, grabbed a voice recorder, and ran back to the couch. 

Kent stared at him, stone-faced.

“Alright, Dad. Quick question: What’s the best thing about Ferngill women?” Sam hit the record button.

Kent smiled. “Yoba created the most beautiful women and dropped them all down here in the Ferngill Republic...bright eyes, soft hair, strength and warmth that we men just don’t deserve...and the most beautiful one of all is your mother.” He tore a page out of his notebook. “In fact, I think I’ll tell her that, I’ll sneak a little note under her pillow.”

Abigail clasped her hands over her chest and smiled. Sebastian gave Kent and Sam a thumbs-up. 

“Sir, do you mind if we use what you said in one of our songs?” Sebastian walked up to Sam and took the voice recorder.

“Just don’t use my name. And guys? No music tonight, people are sleeping in here.”

The next couple days were a flurry of activity. The band jammed and recorded all weekend, whenever everyone at Sam’s house was awake. As promised, Sam chatted up every girl in town, along with most of the older women. Sebastian, not wanting to deal with Demetrius, hacked into his computer and got the bullfrog sounds and bird songs that Abigail wanted. 

As the Feast drew nearer, Abigail put the recordings on a CD as well as a USB drive, in case Gus decided to upgrade the jukebox later. She was nervous, though; she had no idea what kind of music Gus actually liked, or if he’d take the new jukebox songs as an insult to his current jukebox selection.

She called Sebastian and explained her second thoughts.

“Hey, if he doesn’t like them, I can send someone over to complain about the song selection. I bet my mom would do it. At least then, he’d put the songs in there and other people could play them.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to hurt his feelings.” Abigail paced back and forth in her room. “I’ve gotten a couple of really mean gifts in the past, and I don’t want him to go through that.” David the guinea pig paced back and forth in his cage, trying to follow his person.

“I think if you explain all the work we put into it, he’ll at least listen to the music on his own. Once he hears it, he’ll probably feel compelled to put it in the jukebox...because come on, it’s good stuff!”

“That’s true…”

“Except for House of Booty. That’s a little silly. As long as it’s not the first song, we should be good, though.”

Abigail laughed.

Sebastian continued. “Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Abigail opened her mouth to speak.

Sebastian didn’t let her continue. “He’ll hate it. He’ll absolutely despise it and feel insulted. But even then, he can’t 86 us because of how much money we bring in on Fridays and how good of customers our parents are. So we still have our pool spot. And we still have these re-done, remastered recordings of our old stuff. We’ve rehearsed enough to have a few more songs down well enough to play live, across different genres.”

“Yeah! That’s true!”

There was an odd moment of silence. Abigail opened her mouth to speak again, to say goodbye, but Sebastian interrupted her. “Besides, we got to play You're An Autumn Wind again. That alone makes it worth it for me.”

“What’s with you and that song? I mean, I know you wrote it, but you also wrote Rumbling Hearts, and KZZU actually picked that one up for airplay.”

“Well, I know. I just like it. I put my heart into it. Besides, it’s the only song I know of that sounds country and emo and romantic all at the same time.”

“Yeah, you’re right about that. Anyway, I should let you go, my dad’s calling me.”

“Good luck. See you tomorrow, Happy Feasting!”

“Happy Feasting.”

Sebastian hung up his phone. “And it reminds me of you, Abigail.” He pressed PLAY on his computer, letting You're An Autumn Wind play for the tenth time in a row.

On the day of the Feast, Abigail was practically ambushed by Harvey the second she walked out the door and into the town square.

“Abigail, this is for you. I’m your secret friend. Be careful opening it, don’t turn it over.”

“Oh, interesting!” Abigail gently unwrapped the box and opened it up. Inside was a blackberry cobbler, a jar of farm-fresh whipped cream, and a handwritten card.

She gasped. “I seriously love this! You’re the best, Harvey!”

“Thanks.” 

Abigail shrugged and reached in for the card. Her face softened as she read: “Just like flour, sugar, and blackberries combine to form something wonderful, every part of you has combined to form a strong and beautiful young woman. Enjoy your gift and walk with confidence. I’ve included the recipe for the cobbler, too. --Harvey”

“That’s so sweet, Harvey! I’m going to run this inside and put it in the fridge. I actually just showed up, so I’m still looking for my secret friend. Have you seen Gus around?”

“No, I’m also just getting here. I wanted to offload your gift as soon as possible so I didn’t drop it.”

“Good plan!” Abigail took the cobbler inside, stuck it in the fridge, then headed back through the town square to track down Gus.

She found him at a table with Leah and Elliott, discussing artisanal candy canes. 

“Gus! Hey, how’s it going?”

“Happy Feasting! I’m doing well! How about yourself?”

“Well...I’m your secret friend. And I have your gift.” She handed over a small, neatly wrapped box.

Gus opened it up. “A CD, huh? And what’s the other thing?”

“A USB drive. Both have the exact same files on them. They’re songs for the jukebox,” she said hesitantly.

“Oh, that’s sweet. Thank you.” He turned the CD over and looked at the track list on the back. “Rumbling Hearts...Lunar Eclipse...aren’t these some of your songs?”

Abigail smiled. “Yeah! We put our entire new album on there.”

“And Gem Sea Sonata?”

“Sebastian played that one on piano.”

“Nice! What are the rest of them?”

“Oh, they’re all our songs. There’s some country, some pop, some more classical, some dance stuff...we had a lot of fun putting it all together.”

“Oh, goodness! You and Sam and Sebastian performed all of them? That’s amazing. I’ll put this in the jukebox tomorrow when I open up.”

The next Friday night, Abigail got to the saloon early. She planned on leaving a tall stack of coins on the jukebox, so people would be encouraged to check out the new songs. 

As soon as she opened the door, she realized she wouldn’t have to.

The bass was thumping. “House of booty-booty-booty!” Emily was dancing around the tables, holding a beer in each hand, singing along. “House of booty-booty-booty!” Demetrius and Robin were shaking their butts, along with Marnie, Leah, and Pierre.

Behind the bar, Gus was swiveling his hips, swinging a towel above his head and giggling. Abigail cracked up laughing; the combination of her dad trying to shake his booty and Gus dancing like a stripper were just too much.

“Abigail!” Gus called.

Abigail made her way up to the bar, still giggling.

“Love the booty song! And the rest of them are good, too, but…” He paused, waiting for the beat to drop. “House of booty-booty-booty!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly just wrote this one as an excuse for the band to have a song about booty, tbh...


	11. To Demetrius, from Penny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penny has to get a gift for Demetrius, but she has no money. Can Maru help?

Penny was washing dishes when the trailer door opened. Penny could tell it was Maru by the sound her heavy boots made on the elevated floor. Without a word, Maru grabbed the dish towel from the door handle of the fridge and started drying.

“Thanks! It’s hard to run a household all by yourself.”

“I should build you a robot, Penny.”

“I’d be okay with just a dishwasher, honestly.” Penny dropped a handful of silverware on Maru’s outstretched towel.

After a little bit of chit chat about Maru’s ideas for robots, and what Vincent might like for a Winter Star gift, they had finished the dishes.

“Wanna watch some TV?” Maru asked.

“Sure! Exploring Exploding is on public access. You’ve watched that before, right?”

“Oh, yeah, the one with the nerdy professor from Zuzu University who blows all that stuff up? I’ve seen a few episodes of that.”

Penny turned on the TV. “Last Thursday, he mixed iridium into C4 and blew a crater into the ground! The desk and the container he used were completely vaporized, I’m pretty sure the glass just melted. It was so awesome!”

“Nice! I hope we get to see something like that today!”

“Oh, we will.” Penny paused for a second. “Hey, what do you think your dad would like for a Winter Star gift?”

“Oh, Yoba…” Maru looked up, as if to search her brain. “Food. Bean hotpots, ice cream, rice pudding...he loves strawberries, but maybe a strawberry plant would be better than, like, one individual strawberry.” She laughed. “How about a book on how to understand women?”

“If I could afford a book, I’d get him one.”

Maru looked puzzled.

“You remember when the furnace went out? I spent my entire month’s pay on a new one.”

“WHAT?!”

“Yeah. Mom didn’t have any money that first week. She told me to pay for it and said she’d pay me back. The week after, Gus made her pay her tab at the saloon. Now she’s saying that bus ticket sales have been low so she’s not making as much…” Penny sighed. “I’ve pretty much written off Winter’s pay as a loss.”

“Well, why don’t you cook something for my dad?”

“I’m not a good cook. I wish I was, but everything I try to cook comes out burned and it all tastes funny.”

“Everything?”

“Yes! I can kind of understand when I burn recipes that I try to make up by myself, but even following a Queen of Sauce recipe to the letter, I burn it! And everything I put in that oven tastes bad!”

“It almost sounds like the problem is your oven, not your cooking. Lemme try something. I’ll preheat it to exactly 400 degrees.”

“How will you know when that happens? The light never goes off.”

“Huh! That alone is very helpful, thank you!”

So began a long day of working on the oven. Maru figured out pretty quickly that the thermostat was broken. She also found what appeared to be a handle of Joja Vodka melted to the lower heating element, which would explain the funny taste. 

While Maru was working, Penny went over to the farmer’s house. She offered a couple hours of work for some green beans or some rice. The farmer told her to go into the greenhouse and take what she needed. When she tried to leave with just a handful of green beans, the farmer loaded her up with veggies, fruit, eggs, jelly, and fish.

Penny lugged her heavy bags of food to the trailer. She opened the door and found Maru inside her oven, clanking around and cursing Yoba. “This is more like working on an old car than a kitchen appliance,” she said, “I’m gonna have to take 20 showers when I get home…”

“Maru? Is everything okay?”

“As okay as it can be when I’m in a decrepit old oven,” she said. She scooted out. She was completely covered in dirt and grease. “I’m gonna have to put industrial degreaser in my hair. This is like working on a car engine, but everything I need to mess with is above me so it all gets on me!”

“I’m sorry...you don’t have to do this.”

“Oh, it’s done now, I just have to put the oven back together. Besides, you told me that you have no money, so I want you to have a working oven. That way, you’ll be able to forage and cook root veggies, and you can fish, so you won’t have to eat frozen dinners all the time.”

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.” Penny opened the fridge. “The farmer gave me a bunch of produce and fish because I harvested everything in the greenhouse. Being able to cook this stuff in a working oven will make things easier. The Queen of Sauce doesn’t tell us how to make her dishes in the microwave!”

Maru looked through the bags as Penny put the food away. “Nice! There are some great looking green beans in here. Have you ever tried to make Bean Hotpot?”

“No, I haven’t. I usually just buy them canned and stick them in the microwave.”

Maru’s face lit up. “Oh, you’re gonna love this!” She scurried back into the oven with a screwdriver. “Fresh green beans are so much better, and this hotpot is a great way to show them off.” Her voice echoed off the oven walls. “I put in a new lower heating element and a new thermostat, so the oven should actually heat up to the temperature you want and the food should taste good.” She banged around in the oven, awkwardly installing a large metal piece. “I can probably come by tomorrow after work and show you how to make it.”

“Awesome!”

Maru wiggled herself out of the oven and slammed the door. “Done.” She leaned against the oven door, still sitting on the ground.

Penny poured her a cup of water. “You alright?”

Maru chugged the entire cup of water. “Yeah. Just dirty and thirsty.” She handed the cup to Penny, who refilled it and handed it back. “Thanks.”

“Do you want to use my shower?”

“YES.” Maru made a beeline for the bathroom, chugging water. “Wait, my hair!” She ran back to the toolbox and pulled out a tub of heavy duty mechanics’ cleaner. “I was serious about this.” With that, she ran back to the bathroom.

“Wait!” Penny followed her into the bathroom and reached under the sink, way in the back. “Use some of my deep conditioner, too.” She pulled out a pink bottle. “I can imagine your hair will need moisture after you use that heavy duty soap.” 

“Are you sure?”

“You just spent all day fixing my oven knowing I can’t pay you. You can use the whole bottle if you need to!”

On the day of the Feast, Penny had a spring in her step and a Bean Hotpot in her hands. She could feel the heat of the pan through her mittens. She knew the recipe was good; Maru had shown her how to make it once, and she’d made this one exactly the same way. She went right over to Maru’s table and set the Bean Hotpot down in front of Demetrius.

“Surprise! Happy Feasting!”

“Penny! You’re giving this to me? This is amazing! You’re my secret friend?”

“Yes I am. But you’ll have to thank your daughter for this, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“She spent all day over at the trailer the other day, fixing my oven so I could make this.”

“She told me about that! Not the Bean Hotpot part, but she told me she fixed your oven. While you were at the farm, I took her to the hardware store so she could get a new heating element. We spent the whole time we were there talking about where to find gross bugs, I guess Maru made a little book for Vincent about the Valley’s invertebrate life. Anyway, I really appreciate this, Penny!”

“Thank you. I’m just glad Maru was able to help.”

“She’s a good egg. And so are you, Penny.”


	12. To Robin, from Gus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin mediates a fight between Sebastian and Demetrius. Sebastian tells Gus that his gift for Robin "Better be something good." Gus tries his best, and inadvertently starts an argument between Clint and Willy.

“It’s not about the snowgoon, Demetrius!” Sebastian’s voice pierced through the kitchen.

“That’s exactly what it’s about,” he said. “I took it down, and now you’re yelling at me. That’s not necessary.”

“You let Maru’s cute little snowman stay! It’s like she can do no wrong, and--”

“Sebastian, stop.” Robin turned to the kitchen table, holding a hot pan of eggs. “In this case, it really is about the snowgoon. Demetrius only took it down because it was blocking the path, that thing was HUGE!”

“I could get around it!”

“Well, we’re not all built like you. I ended up having to climb on that bottom snowball to get around it. There’s no way Maru could have gotten past it.”

“Her fat ass could stay out there for all I care…” Sebastian mumbled under his breath.

“Sebastian, do NOT talk about my daughter that way!” Demetrius roared. “If I hear that out of you again, I will--”

“Demetrius!” Robin slammed the pan down. “You’re not helping! Get out of here! I’ll bring your breakfast if I ever get a chance to finish it!”

Demetrius stomped off to the bedroom he shared with Robin and slammed the door.

“And Sebastian, you don’t have to like Maru, but you cannot be mean like that. That was rude and uncalled for.”

“Sorry, Mom. Just frustrated with her and Demetrius.”

“I know. It’s hard. He always knows the exact wrong thing to say.” Robin turned back to the stove. “And the exact wrong time to say it.” She set aside a couple crystal fruits, a cutting board, and a knife. “Sebby, you’re my baby. You always will be. When you were a little kid, after your dad left, it was just you and me. I know you haven’t forgotten that, and I haven’t either. You were what brought me through the darkest time of my life. I have a bond with you that I don’t have with anyone else in my life--not Demetrius, and not even Maru. She’s the daughter that made our family complete, but she’s not you and she doesn’t have the history that we have. And in that same vein, Demetrius and Maru have a bond that we’ll never be a part of.”

Sebastian silently made his way to the counter and started chopping crystal fruit.

“Thanks, honey. Listen, anyone who tells you that all parents love their children the same is a liar. I love you differently than I love Maru. You and I go way back, to the days in the river house when all we could eat is what we could forage and cook over a campfire.”

“I kinda remember that! I found a snow yam one time and I was so happy...until you cooked it up for dinner.”

Robin laughed. “Yeah, they’re not my favorite either. Anyway. Demetrius says he took the snowgoon down because it was blocking the path. He may be right. That’s the only reason I would have taken it down, it was cool! Build another one on the lawn, and I’ll make sure he leaves it alone.”

“That took all day. I’m not sure I wanna build another one.”

“That’s fine too, you get to pick what you do with your time.”

“Try telling that to your husband.” Sebastian tossed some chopped crystal fruit in a bowl. “He made me do all of Maru’s laundry the other day.”

“He did what?!”

“Yeah.” Sebastian deepened his voice, tossed the hair out of his eyes, and screwed up his face, imitating Demetrius. “Hey Sebby, that laundry down there ain’t gonna do itself! I want all five loads done by the end of the day!” He shook his hair out. “Four were Maru’s, one was his and yours, and I had a deadline coming up. I ended up bringing my laptop to the laundry room and sitting on the floor all day.”

“Ugh.” Robin rolled her eyes. “Far be it from me to throw my husband under the bus--”

“Why not? Don’t know the schedule? Zuzu City bus runs every half hour starting at 7:30, Calico Desert bus starts at 10:00…”

“Dude!” Robin held up a hand. “Too far!” She pressed her lips together to hide a laugh. “He should not have done that. I’ll go over the house rules with him again--we all do our own laundry, and you work from...remind me again?” She dished some eggs out to each plate. “No! Wait! Write it on the whiteboard on the fridge instead. That way we’ll all know.”

“Okay. Crystal fruit’s all chopped and tossed with honey and ginger, by the way.”

“Thanks, honey. I love you.”

“Love you too, Mom. I’ll be working until 4:00.”

That night, Sebastian made his way down the mountain to the saloon. Sam had wussed out of playing pool with him, and Abigail wasn’t feeling well, so he was grabbing some takeout for her. As soon as he entered the saloon, Gus hurried over.

“Sebastian! I’m glad you’re here, I need to talk to you.”

“Why?” He sat down on a stool.

“It’s about your mom.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What about my mom?”

Gus laughed. “Nothing bad! I’m just her Winter Star friend! What do you think she’d want? I got your dad--”

“--Stepdad!”

“Sorry. Got your stepdad last year, gave him a tool set. I think I kinda struck out.”

“Whatever. Mom still uses those hand tools, she needed some new ones...so they were helpful to someone, at least.”

“Okay. I feel a little better now. I’d hate to think of them gathering dust in a cabinet somewhere. Anyway, since she’s already got tools, what do you think your mom would like?”

“Oh, man, all I’m thinking of is food. She loves peaches. She loves goat cheese. She would probably marry your spaghetti if she could…” He slammed his hands down on the bar and laughed. “SPAGHETTI! Replace Demetrius with spaghetti!”

Gus laughed. “You really don’t like that guy, do you? He’s always been fine with me, I like him!”

“You’ve never tried being his stepson.”

“This is true, and it would take way too much drama and finagling for me to give that a shot.” He grabbed the glass near Sebastian’s seat and dunked it in the sink. “Anyway, she likes food. I could definitely go somewhere with that, food is my thing...but it doesn’t quite seem like enough. I mean, she’s done so well with the saloon’s remodels over the years, and she’s always so nice to be around. She’s one of my best customers.”

“And she’s my mom, so you better get her something good.”

“Duly noted!” Gus laughed. “Now, would you like a drink?”

“No thanks, but I will take a Spicy Eel to go.”

Later that night, after most of the patrons had trickled out of the saloon, Gus walked out from behind the bar with a beer. He sat down with Willy and Clint. “Hey, guys! How’s it going?”

“Takin’ the night off,” Willy said.

“It’s going…” Clint took a swig of beer.

“Listen, guys.” Gus took a sip of his own beer. “Robin’s my Winter Star friend, what do you know about her?”

Clint gestured toward the only other occupied table in the bar. “Why don’t you ask Lewis? He hangs out with her more than I do.”

Gus cringed. “I don’t want to interrupt him and Marnie for that.”

“Why not? Doesn’t Marnie go to aerobics with Robin?”

Gus leaned in. “She does, but Marnie really doesn’t like Robin.” His voice was soft. “Don’t tell anyone, but I think there may be some sort of jealousy issue going on.”

Willy rolled his eyes. “Women!”

Gus held up a finger. “I think if Marnie was in a stable relationship, she wouldn’t have these issues...but the man she’s seeing won’t let her have that. It’s not a women problem, it’s a guy who’s too weak to commit problem.”

Clint nodded. 

“But we’re talking about Robin here!” Gus continued. “All I know is she likes food. I don’t like giving food as a gift, because food is my job. It’s just too expected.”

“Hang on, I wanna know why Marnie’s jealous of Robin!” Clint’s voice was hushed and conspiratorial.

Willy, in the same hushed voice, piped up. “Because Robin’s pretty and Marnie ain’t!”

“Actually,” Clint said, “I think Marnie’s prettier. Robin’s built like a superhero because she’s out there lumberjackin’ all the time, but Marnie has character. She’s soft and feminine.”

Gus took another drink of beer. 

Willy interjected. “You like ‘em weird! I know you want Emily, even though she has weird hair and she’s lanky and goofy...she’s all knees and elbows! And I don’t know what you’re seein’ in Marnie, she just looks like an average middle-aged lady to me.”

“I’ve been to her ranch before. I’ve had to build furnaces and fences, and shoe her horses...I’ve spent time with her and gotten to know her. There is something so soft and sweet and cute about her. You know those dogs with all the wrinkles?”

Gus held a hand to his mouth, stifling a laugh.

“Or that one cute little thing in Junimo Kart that’s on the side of the machine? Marnie makes me react like those things, she makes me want to hug her and protect her. There’s something in her eyes that just makes me want to squeeze her.” He glanced up at Gus. “Don’t tell anyone.”

“I am bound by the Bartender’s Confidentiality Agreement,” he said plainly.

Clint continued. “Robin is just...blah.”

“No she ain’t, she’s gorgeous!” Willy interrupted. “It’s just that she wears work clothes all the time.”

“I got it!” Gus pulled out his order taking notebook. “Robin wears work clothes all the time, even here! I could get her a new outfit!”

“How about a dress with a swingy little skirt? That would look great on the dance floor…” Willy looked up with a smile.

“That would be nice,” Clint said, “but hard to imagine.” He glanced at Willy and leaned in again. “I still say Marnie’s prettier.”

Willy firmly shook his head. “Nope, Robin. I’ve seen that girl scale a pine tree before.”

“I get it, Robin’s totally strong. But Marnie is soft and cute.” Clint looked over to Gus. “Help me out here.”

“No, my mouth is full,” Gus said. He chugged the remaining half of his beer.

“Robin could be a swimsuit model,” Willy said.

“If I wanted to look at swimsuit models, I’d get a copy of the Swim Surf Sport catalog!”

“Ask anyone else in this town, they’ll say Robin is prettier!”

“Maybe so, but that won’t change my mind! I am on Team Marnie,” Clint said, jabbing his finger into the tabletop for emphasis.

“Guys!” Gus pointed to the clock, hoping to distract them. “It’s almost last call, want any more beers?”

They ignored him, and continued their hushed argument until Gus turned the saloon’s lights up.

The next afternoon, as soon as Emily came in, Gus started asking questions. “What’s a good outfit for a woman to wear dancing? What if she wears pants all the time, would a skirt offend her? What kind of top? How can you tell what size someone is just by looking at them?”

“Woah, slow down!” Emily giggled. “Dresses are good for dancing. I don’t think a skirt would offend anyone unless they were a guy who doesn’t wear skirts, or if it was super short. And if you don’t know what size someone wears, a wrap dress would be a good idea.”

“What’s a wrap dress?”

Emily grabbed an order ticket. She sketched a wide piece of cloth with sleeves and a ribbon on the waist, and a figure wearing a dress tied with a belt. “This flat piece of cloth here is actually the dress, and it’s tied with a ribbon belt, so it can accommodate people of different shapes and sizes. See how it wraps? I actually made a wrap dress that would be a minidress on me, but a tea-length dress on, like...Maru.”

“What color? Can I buy it off you?”

“Why? I mean, it’s green with a leaf pattern. But...why?”

“Winter Star!”

“Why don’t you just make your friend some food?”

“That’s what everyone always expects! I try to break away from that. Besides, business has been good lately, I have enough to splurge a bit.”

“Awesome! Who’s your Winter Star friend?”

“Robin.”

“Ohhh yeah. She needs a dress, BAD.” Emily giggled. “I love her, but her clothes are just sad. The only time I ever saw her wear a dress was when she did Clothing Therapy. And she looked good! I don’t know why she doesn’t dress up more! I can definitely get that dress to you, I’ll sell it for 2000G. I’ll have it washed, pressed, and ready for you tomorrow when I come in.”

“Great!”

On the day of the Feast, just before dinner was served, Gus found Robin. “Hello there! I’m your Winter Star friend!”

“Oh, good! I’m looking forward to it!”

Gus handed over a package. “Here ya go.”

Robin grabbed it, nearly flinging it backwards with how light it was. “Wow! I was expecting something heavier.” She sat it down on the table and opened it up. After she lifted the dress out and held it up, she gave Gus a quizzical look.

“It’s a wrap dress, Emily made it.”

“Mom!” Maru grabbed Robin’s arm. “I know this pattern, Emily designed a dress that would fit just about everyone. When she made the first one, she tried it on and then had me try it on, just to make sure.”

“Thanks, this is really nice…and I’m looking forward to dressing up a bit!” Robin turned the dress around. “I just wonder what shoes I’ll wear with it.”

The next Friday, Robin and Demetrius were dancing at the bar. Robin wore her new dress, a full face of makeup, hair up in a braided crown...and a pair of her dirty old work boots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am also on Team Marnie. [jabs period button for emphasis]


	13. To Linus, from Sam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam has a wonderful idea for a gift for Linus, but Jodi won't let him do it.

“Samson Isaac! What in the good name of Yoba are you doing in my pantry?!” Jodi’s voice was shrill.

“Just grabbing a Winter Star gift,” Sam answered casually.

“An entire box of food?”

“And those two.” Sam pointed to two crates, each filled with cans and jars of vegetables and jam.

“No!” Jodi marched over to a crate and started unloading. “No, absolutely not!”

“Why not? We have enough food in here to last us until summer!”

“Not quite.” Jodi grabbed a clipboard hanging on a shelf. “Minus the corn and peas I’m using for dinner tonight, we should have enough to get us through until Spring 22. We better, anyway.”

“But it’s for Linus! He can’t afford food!”

“Neither can we, honey.” Jodi sighed. “You are a wonderful man, Sam. I love what you’re trying to do. But Dad’s pension isn’t enough to pay for Vincent’s schooling and our food, and his disability is being delayed again.”

Sam walked over to Jodi and wrapped her up in a hug. “Wow, Mom. I didn’t know it was that bad.”

She leaned her head into his chest. “It’s that bad. Thanks for your help with the bills...I hope we’ll be on our feet soon and not have to ask you for help anymore.”

“Mom, I don’t mind. I’m a grown man, it’s my job to contribute to the household. I know that Dad’s not doing well, I know that the military’s being shady about his pension, so I don’t mind paying the mortgage for now. I really didn’t realize that the pantry was all we had for food, though. I’ll put it back.”

“Thanks. Listen, honey. If you find food somewhere else, I can teach you how to use the preserves jar and how to can vegetables. I can also let you use a cooler for anything frozen. I just can’t part with any of this food, because that and your dad’s hunting are what we’ll be living on until at least mid-Spring.”

The next morning, Sam was up bright and early, knocking on the farmer’s door at 6:00am.

“Sam…?”

“What’s up! You have a fishing pole, right? Would you mind if I borrowed it for a few hours?”

“Do...do you even know how to fish? You don’t, do you?”

“Nope! I’m hoping to figure it out on the fly.”

“Sam! That pun was awful.”

Sam shrugged. He couldn’t hide a smug little grin.

“...and because of that, now I have no choice but to help you fish.”

“Thanks! Awesome!”

“Of course, I should be harvesting the greenhouse right now, because I have to go into the city this afternoon...”

“I won’t take up too much of your time, then. Just tell me how to use the fishing rod without breaking it!”

Unfortunately for the farmer, Sam was not a natural angler. Despite an iridium rod and plenty of bait, it took him five hours to make his first catch: a dinky little perch. He was dumbfounded at how the farmer could pull out fish after fish, everything from tiger trout to lingcod, with seemingly no difficulty at all.

Still, he promised that he would try his best, and that he would return the fishing rod at the end of the day. The farmer said a hasty goodbye and ran back toward the farm, backpack stuffed full of fish, running late to meet Clint for their trip to the city.

“Alright, fishies...it’s just you and me.” Sam casted his line. “Mano a mano. Um. Mano a … perca?”

He felt a tug on his line. A hit!

“Oh snap, here we go!” Sam reeled the line in. “Come on...come on, you son of a--”

The hook was empty.

“NO!”

He tried again, and got what felt like a bite. “Yes! Let’s do this!” He reeled the line in. “Wait, what’s that?”

It was trash.

It slipped off his line.

“NO! Yoba’s ass, I can’t even catch trash!?”

He tried again. And again. Over and over, he casted his line, got a bite, and lost a fish. Every once in a while, he’d get lucky and pull out another perch. Slowly but surely, his time between catches became shorter. Once, he got super lucky and pulled up a tiny tiger trout! 

By the time he returned the fishing pole, his hands and his feet were frozen. The farmer invited him inside to have a glass of wine and defrost. After hearing Sam’s idea for a gift for Linus, the farmer sent him off with half of their own pantry--canned veggies, jams, honey, ground coffee beans, and cave carrots--and the recipe for a delicious Roots Platter.

It was nearly midnight when Sam came home. He plopped a bag of fish and snow down in the sink, then came back for the box of food.

“What’s that?”

“Oh! Hey, Dad. The farmer taught me how to fish today, so I got some fish for Linus. He’s my Winter Star friend. And when I told the farmer what I was gonna do with the fish, they gave me all kinds of goodies. Think Mom would like some?”

“Yeah, she’s been worried about the pantry lately. Just ask her what she wants before you package the rest up, I don’t know what she’s low on.” 

“Alright, sounds good.” Sam sat down.

Kent gestured to the bag in the sink. “You gonna clean those fish or what?”

“Dude, my fingers barely work!”

“Call me Dad or sir, and get your ass into the pantry! We can clean the fish there.”

So began a long night of learning the disgusting process of cleaning fish. Kent made sure that Sam did most of the work, because Sam needed the practice cleaning, gutting, and filleting the fish. Sam also needed the practice keeping his lunch down. 

Kent was strict, but he wasn’t ruthless, either; he sent Sam into the kitchen every once in a while to warm up, and he let Sam use his work gloves. He tried his best to refrain from telling Sam how hard he had it as a kid; hearing his stories about how his dad had him butchering elk from the time he was eight years old wouldn’t help Sam understand how to fillet a fish. 

The next day, after Jodi stocked the household pantry with some of the farmer’s goods, she set all of the fresh produce on the counter. “Okay, Sam. You’ll be learning how to preserve produce today. You can use the preserves jars for most of this, but we don’t want pickled tomatoes or corn. That would be gross.”

“Yes it would!” Sam laughed.

“Get ready, this is complicated. First, we’ll need to sanitize the jars and the lids…”

Sam and Jodi spent most of the day in the kitchen, fussing with jars and boiling water and cutting dozens of ears of corn off the cob. By the end of the day, Sam was exhausted and bedraggled. Jodi, by contrast, was fine. She mentioned wanting to sit down and watch the gridball game, and she put lotion on her hands, but it looked like that was the extent of her suffering. Sam was impressed!

On the day of the feast, Sam found an old backpack, the cooler that Jodi had promised him, and a couple of old tote bags from Pierre’s. He loaded them all full of the food he’d gathered, and lugged them to the town square.

“Hi Sam!” Marnie reached out for the cooler. “Is this for the feast?”

“Nope! Winter Star gift.”

“Oh. What’s in the bags, then?”

“Same Winter Star gift…”

“Wow.”

“I know, right? Hey, will you please keep an eye on these? Thanks!” Without waiting for an answer, he set them down and walked across the square to Linus.

“Hey, happy feasting!”

“Oh! Hi. How are you tonight?”

“Doing well! I’m your secret friend, dude, I have your present over here by the tree.”

“Oh really? The mayor actually remembered to throw my name into the hat to get a gift this time? Alright, let’s go.”

Linus followed Sam through the square, to the tree, and Marnie politely excused herself. 

“Ta-daaaah!” Sam sang as he opened the cooler. “I got you some fish in here…” He closed the lid and started rummaging through bags. “Got some canned veggies from the farm, a couple cave carrots, some jellies in here, some bread, and a few containers full of Roots Platter.”

“Sam! You didn’t have to do all this for me, I’ve had good luck this winter, and I know how to do this stuff. I don’t want to feel like a burden, or some sort of charity case...I can fish, I can preserve food, and I can cook.”

“Me too, isn’t it a pain in the ass?” Sam let out a hearty chuckle. “I figure that if I got you some extra food, you’d be able to spend more time relaxing at the spa or reading in the library so you could stay warm. Think of it as me giving you free time, rather than giving you food.”

“Thank you, Sam. When you put it that way, it is incredibly thoughtful.”

“Thanks, man.” Sam stepped back and watched Linus admire all the food. “I learned how to fish just so I could catch you those fish in the cooler. Then I had to clean and fillet them. It’s hard! I can’t imagine having to do that every day!”

“Wait, you learned how to fish just for me?”

“Yep. Borrowed the farmer’s pole and a few hours of their time.”

“That’s amazing! This is a wonderful thing to do, Sam. I appreciate it, and I’ll hang on to those jars for the leaner times.” Linus held out his hand for a handshake. Sam obliged, and was met with a strong grip and a genuine smile. “Happy feasting, thanks again!”


	14. To Clint, from Caroline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caroline and Pierre go to the Zuzu City Winter Market and meet Clint's dad. Caroline takes a chance and gets Clint a present that might scare him a bit.

Pierre and Caroline drove up the highway, joining the march of cars heading into Zuzu City for work, play, and the Zuzu City Winter Market. 

“Who are you shopping for again?” Pierre asked.

“Clint.” Caroline pulled a small notebook out of her purse. “And maybe some spices for the casserole that I can only get here, and maybe a tiny something for Jodi, so I can give it to her on her birthday, I mean, as long as we’re at Zuzu City Winter Market...you can find some good stuff there. Who did you get?”

“Haley! This should be easy. I’ll just go to a clothing stall and get something trendy.”

“Honey...do you know what size she wears?”

“Medium...ish?”

Caroline sighed. “If you’re going to get clothing, especially the stuff Haley is into, you need to know an exact size. It’s usually pretty tailored and tight-fitting.”

“Huh. I never thought of that.” Pierre’s face fell. “But what else does she like? I mean, I know she’s a photographer, but I don’t know what type of camera she has. I don’t know if she does digital or film or both. But I do know that lenses and editing software are expensive! I’d run the risk of getting her a duplicate of something she already has, too.”

“Makeup!”

“But I don’t like it when women wear makeup...she looks so much prettier without it.”

Caroline laughed. “Honey, you’ve never seen her without makeup. I guarantee it. Every time she comes in looking like she has no makeup on, she’s wearing foundation and blush and mascara, at the very least. She doesn’t have the heavy eyeshadow or lipstick, but she’s wearing something. She’s like Jodi that way. I can help you pick something that will look natural for her, she’ll love it.”

“You think? And is makeup expensive?”

“I know she’ll like it. And we can find something inexpensive, I am sure of that. I wear a brand of makeup that’s not very expensive, we can get her some of that.”

“Okay…”

“I just need to think of what to get for Clint! He’s told me before, all he does is work and drink and sleep.”

“Beer or pajamas…?”

“Either of those would work,” Caroline said, “but I’d like to kind of break him out of his routine, you know? Does he ever take a day off?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Well, no wonder he’s so cranky all the time! He needs to relax and think positively.”

“I’m not sure he’d know positive thinking if it bit him in the ass.”

Caroline laughed. “True! But I can try to coax it out of him.”

After nearly half an hour of driving around the city, trying to find parking, and wandering the streets, Pierre and Caroline found the Winter Market. Inside, they were hit with the scents of cinnamon and pine, and the sound of hundreds of people having their own little conversations.

Caroline took out her notebook again. “I need spices and wine, I’ll head over that way,” she said, pointing toward the far corner of the market.”

“Awww…” Pierre took her arm. “I was hoping you’d come with me…”

Caroline sighed. “Oh, right, the makeup thing.”

“Yeah!” 

Pierre and Caroline walked through the market, Pierre holding Caroline’s arm. With no map, and no idea where any of the stalls were, they wandered idly. Every once in a while, they’d stop somewhere that piqued their interest. 

One of those stops was a blacksmithing and silversmithing stall. There were wrought iron gates and ornaments, metal art, tools, and weapons. There was also a fine jewelry display.

“Look at that ring!” Caroline pointed inside the display case. “It looks like the silver, gold, and iridium are braided together, that’s beautiful!”

The man behind the table spoke. “Thank you! It’s hard to do small work with big hands, but it’s possible. Let me know if you’d like to see anything from the display case.”

“Maybe! I’m buying a gift for a friend’s birthday, I might get her a ring.”

Pierre and Caroline wandered over to the other side of the table, where the man displayed his tools and weapons. 

“This is a nice gold garden fork, honey, maybe you could use this for the garden out back…”

Caroline took a look. “Maybe so, I do need something to move mulch around.” She took a closer look. “Hey...that mark looks familiar!”

The fork was marked with a W and a B, superimposed over each other.

“You’re from Pelican Town, aren’t you?” The man behind the table spoke again. He stood, an absolute giant of a man, and offered a handshake.

“Yes sir!” Pierre shook his hand. “I’m Pierre, I own the general store in Pelican Town. This is my wife, Caroline.”

“Will Becker, nice to meet you! My son, Clint, is the blacksmith in town. He uses my molds to make tools.”

“That explains the mark!” Caroline turned the garden fork around. “You make good, sturdy stuff. And so does Clint, of course!”

“Glad to hear it.” Will sat down with a sigh. “I handed him that Pelican Town job on a silver platter, gift-wrapped and everything, and he just doesn’t seem to appreciate how good he’s got it. It’s good, honest work, it’ll keep him set for life financially, and it’s something to be proud of. But he hardly ever calls me, and when he does, he’s just complaining about work. If he’d just get his head out of the clouds for a minute, he’d realize how good he has it. 

”When he was a teenager,” Will continued, “he wanted to be a rodeo cowboy. He actually won the Grampleton Rodeo junior division when he was 16. That got him thinking he could make a living doing it, and when he came home with his tail between his legs a couple years later, I offered to let him work in my shop as an apprentice. He decided to be a roadie with some blues band instead. A couple years later, when that work dried up, he finally agreed to do that apprenticeship. I got him the shop in Pelican Town after that, the old blacksmith was just about to retire.”

“Wait, he was a rodeo cowboy?” Caroline’s face lit up. “And he toured with a band?! He never told me his life was interesting!”

“Me neither!” Pierre laughed. “Then again, he never tells me much. He never really tells anyone much, he just complains about work and how he doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

Will let out a hearty laugh. “Still? Yoba’s butt! That guy has everything he needs in life--a stable job, money, good looks--and he still doesn’t have a girlfriend? He’s just not willing to put in work!”

“Well, it’s not just a matter of work,” Caroline said. “There’s no amount of work that a person can put in to somehow win a significant other if that other person isn’t attracted to them.”

“I get that,” Will said. “But the boy won’t even say hi to people! I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He used to be such a gregarious kid!”

After a few more minutes talking, and the purchase of that braided ring for Jodi’s birthday, Pierre and Caroline parted ways with Will. They found a makeup stall not long after, and Caroline helped Pierre choose some natural-looking makeup for Haley. 

They were wandering back toward Will’s stall, hoping for some insight as to what Clint would like as a gift, when they heard the familiar twang of blues.

“That’s right, he’s a blues fan!” Caroline led Pierre toward the back of the hall, where the music was coming from.

“Oh, right. Maybe we could get him a CD.”

“I just hope whoever’s playing this is selling actual blues music, not stereo equipment or instruments or whatever.”

“No, it looks like it’s actual blues music. Have you ever heard of The Muddy Boots?”

“Nope.”

“Me neither, but there they are,” Pierre said. 

He pointed to a booth labeled “The Muddy Boots,” staffed by four bearded gentlemen wearing all black. On one side of the booth, there was a TV showing the band playing a set. On the other, there was a stack of CDs.

Pierre and Caroline stood by the TV and watched.

“Hello, we’re The Muddy Boots! I’m Big Bluesman.” The biggest bearded man, with gray hair and a ponytail, held out a hand.

“That can’t be your real name!” Pierre shook his hand and laughed.

“No, it ain’t, but what does it matter? Nice to meet you!”

“I’m Caroline, that’s my husband, Pierre. I’m shopping for a friend who’s a blues fan. Nice to meet you! My friend is apparently quite the blues fan, he was a roadie for a blues band when he was a teenager.”

“What band, do you know?”

Caroline shook her head. “Nope. He’s not much of a talker.”

“Don’t matter,” he said. “We’re a pretty new band...I mean, we’ve all been on the blues scene for a long time, except for Little Eddie here.” He gestured to the small, skinny guy. “He ain’t been on any scene for long, he’s only seventeen years old!”

Little Eddie shrugged.

Big Bluesman continued. “He’s a good drummer, though, and he got an old soul. You wanna see him do his thing?”

“When? My friend might!” Caroline said.

“New Year’s Eve at the Fox Theater in Grampleton, we’re sellin’ tickets right here.”

Caroline turned to Pierre. “Oh, that might work!”

“Well, why don’t you get him a ticket?”

“Two tickets!” Caroline was beaming. “And a copy of your album, please.”

“Two?” Pierre asked.

“Yep. Two. That way, he’ll have to ask someone to go with him. I know Harvey’s a big music fan, I’ve seen Marnie put some blues on the jukebox at the saloon, and if he’s feeling really brave, he could ask Emily.”

“I like how you think, honey.”

On the day of the Feast, Caroline waited until almost everyone had finished eating to deliver her gift. She found Clint sitting alone, drinking a beer.

“Hey, Clint! I’m your secret friend.” She handed him a small package, which he quickly unwrapped.

“What’s this? The Muddy Boots?” he asked.

“Yep! They’re a blues band, they say they’re pretty new to the Grampleton music scene--”

Clint laughed. “I know the Muddy Boots! They opened up for Old Billy Picker at the Fox a few months ago, they’re pretty good! They finally have a full length album out, huh?”

“Yep!” Caroline took the wrapping out of Clint’s hand. “Don’t throw that away, I have tickets to their New Year’s Eve show in there.”

“This is a fun gift. Thanks!”

“You’re welcome.” Caroline handed him both tickets.

“Wait, why are there two tickets?”

Caroline beamed. “I’m sure you’re not the only one in town who would like to go to a concert! This way, you can ask someone to go with you!”

Clint’s jaw dropped. He cringed. “A-ask?”

“Well, yeah! Harvey talks about going to concerts all the time, and Marnie puts blues on the jukebox at the Saloon...you’re friends with Emily, she might like to go, and the farmer’s still new to the area so I’m sure they’d love to see a show at the Grampleton Fox.”

Clint swallowed hard.

“Drink more beer,” Caroline said plainly. 

Clint took a large gulp.

Caroline continued. “Did you realize that you’re actually an interesting guy? I ran into your father at the Zuzu City Winter Market the other day--”

Clint shotgunned his beer with terror in his eyes.

Caroline laughed. “No, nothing bad! He told me that you won the Grampleton Rodeo! And that you were a roadie for a blues band! Listen. Have another beer, get some liquid courage in you, then ask a friend to the concert. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

“What if they say no?”

“Then they say no. And it probably won’t have anything to do with you.”

Just then, Marnie walked by. Caroline waved her over.

“Hi, Caroline! Hi Clint! Happy feasting to you both!”

“Happy feasting,” Caroline said. “You’re a blues fan, aren’t you?”

Clint’s eyes widened.

“Yes I am,” Marnie said. “Why do you ask?”

With her foot, Caroline nudged Clint under the table.

Clint turned bright red. When he spoke, it was quick and mumbled, just above a whisper in volume. “I have tickets to The Muddy Boots concert on New Year’s Eve, wanna go?”

“What?” Marnie leaned in. “Did you say concert tickets?”

“Uh huh.”

Marnie sighed. “Well, I’m not sure if I have plans, but…” She thought about it for a second. “...if I do, I can cancel them.” 

Clint spoke, nearly interrupting her. “Oh, if you have plans, it’s alright! Don’t worry about it!”

“She’s saying yes, you nugget!” Caroline hissed.

Marnie laughed. “Yes, Clint, I would love to go. It’s been way too long since I’ve seen live music.”


	15. To Elliott, from Clint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willy helps Clint come up with the perfect gift for Elliott.

Clint carried two beers over to his table, where Willy was already waiting. Without a word, he slid one over to Willy.

“This looks great. Thank you!”

“It’s not a gift, it’s a bribe.” Clint chuckled.

“What are you bribing me to do?” Willy laughed. “Should I even accept this?”

“I just need to know what Elliott would like for a Winter Star gift! You really overestimate my motivation level, man.”

“Just makin’ sure…” Willy took a sip. “Last time I took a bribe, I had to sneak out of a Gotoro prison in drag.”

“Are you serious?!”

“No!” Willy let out a hearty laugh. “They don’t let women in Gotoro prisons! I woulda stuck out like a sore thumb! I just took a guard outfit from the laundry like a normal person!”

“Oh, okay.” He took a drink. “Wait, you WHAT?!”

Willy shrugged and took another drink of beer. “You were askin’ me about Elliott, right? He’s one of those hopeless romantic types.”

Clint chuckled. “Well, I can’t get him romance. I can’t even get myself any romance!”

Willy continued. “The man loves his food.”

“I’m sure he does, but my cooking is an insult to foods everywhere.”

“He also loves duck feathers, for some reason.”

“Oh!” Clint’s face lit up. “I could probably get some from Marnie, huh?”

“Her or the farmer. But you know what he really needs?”

“What?”

“A barbecue,” Willy said.

Clint’s face fell. “Oh.”

“He cooks in a pan that he holds over the fire. He has no kitchen in that little shack!”

“Well...Yoba’s butt.”

Willy laughed. “What’s the matter?”

“He’d need a blacksmith to make that for him. I am a blacksmith, and I don’t wanna make that for him,” Clint said. “But it’s something he really needs. The last thing I wanna do is more work, especially for free, but...ugh. He needs to cook.” He took another drink of beer. “Dammit, I’m gonna have to go to the machine shop in Zuzu City to do this.”

The next morning, Clint hung a “Closed” sign on the front door of the shop. He loaded sheet metal and iron bars in his truck and headed out for Zuzu City, stopping to pick up the farmer on the way. The farmer needed gifts, and was willing to give Clint money for gas, so he took advantage of the offer.

The machine shop was loud, hot, stinky, and full of workers. Clint had always felt out of place here, among people he saw as superiors. They knew their stuff. They were the elite metalworkers, the builders, the creators. He just melted metal into forms and smashed geodes open. He hadn’t worked on a lathe in years, and his hand hammering was sloppy at best.

Still, he did his best. He had a good set of plans, he measured carefully, he brought a few extra sheets of metal just in case. When he was done, he had a pretty damn good barbecue grill! He delivered it back to his shop, bought a Winter Star card from Pierre’s, and wrote a little message.

On the day of the feast, Elliott was in good spirits. He’d given Alex a good gift, eaten plenty of food, enjoyed some Ancient Fruit wine, and was having a wonderful conversation with Leah and Gus. 

When Clint approached, Elliott wrapped him up in a warm hug. “Clint! Happy feasting, sir, how are you!”

“Well, I’m...ah...I’m your Winter Star friend, and...” Clint stepped back and thrust the envelope into Elliott’s hand.

“Oh, a present! Thank you!” Elliott took the card. He removed the letter opener from his jacket and carefully opened the envelope. He read aloud to the table: “Elliott, your gift is too big to bring to the Feast. Please come to my shop tomorrow morning.” He turned to Clint. “I relish the anticipation!”

The next morning, Elliott was waiting at the door of the shop when Clint unlocked his door. As soon as he heard the lock click, he turned the doorknob and walked in.

“I didn’t expect you this early! Good morning, Elliott!”

“I was up before the sun. My curiosity got the best of me!”

“Have you had breakfast?”

Elliott cocked his head. “I...had bread and jam with my coffee, does that count?”

“You’re about to have an excellent brunch!”

“Oh, really? And what will we be feasting on?”

“I heard you like grilled lobster tails and Tom Kha Soup…”

“I love them! What a treat! Where will we be going?”

“Your place.”

Elliott took a step back. “What…?”

“The truck’s out back, I already warmed it up,” Clint said.

“But it’s not even half a mile. We could walk.”

“Well, yeah, but then we wouldn’t be able to bring the barbecue.”

“The barbecue? Clint, is there something you’re not telling me?”

Clint cleared his throat. “Yeah. Um. Your Winter Star gift is a barbecue. I got coal, I got ingredients for food, there’s a cast iron pan and a cast iron pot to go with it...and Gus is gonna grill up some lobster tails and make some Tom Kha soup for us.”

“You got me a barbecue?! Clint, that’s a beautiful gift! Thank you! I bet you had to go all the way to Zuzu City to get one of those!”

“Yep. I don’t have any of the machines I’d need to make one here, so I had to go to the machine shop. That’s always an ordeal. But I got it done, and it’s a good one, so I hope you get plenty of use out of it.”

“Wait. You MADE a barbecue? You crafted it with your own two hands?”

“Well, that, and a bunch of heavy machinery…”

Once again, Elliott wrapped Clint up in a tight hug. “Good man! Thank you so much! I’ve needed a barbecue since I moved here, and to get one with your very heart imbued into the metal...this is wonderful!”

From then on, Elliott could be seen at his grill every night. Every night was an open invitation, and everyone who came to Elliott’s shack at dinnertime was treated to the story of how Clint built his wonderful barbecue grill with nothing but iron, fire, and love.


	16. To Jas, from George

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The oldest man in Pelican Town is asked to give a gift to the youngest girl, and he is stumped. With a little inspiration from his TV programs and a little help from Alex, he comes up with something good.

“Aww, Yoba’s rear end!” George’s exclamation was an odd combination of a whine and a roar.

“What’s the matter, dear?” Evelyn tottered over to her husband, who was holding a stack of envelopes.

“The mayor’s a damned fool, that’s what’s the matter!”

“Oh, what did he do this time?”

“Oh, it’s Winter Star time,” George grumbled. “Of all the people in this forsaken town, he gives me Jas! What do I know about little girls?” 

Evelyn opened her mouth to speak.

George cut her off. “Especially little girls these days! She probably wants one of those damned computer phones! Or video games! Or a college education, I don’t know! Back in my day, girls were happy to get a new baby doll!”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something good,” Evelyn said. “Now will you please be a dear and read my letter for me?”

“Right.” George tore his wife’s letter open. “Looks like you got the farmer this year.”

“Oh, that’s perfect!” Evelyn clasped her hands over her chest. “I have a chrysanthemum plant that’s growing like a weed, just begging to be divvied up! I can put half in a garden pot and give that to the farmer.”

“Well, at least one of us has a clue.” George tossed the letters on the side table and turned on the TV. “Humbug!”

Later that morning, Alex sleepily wandered downstairs.

“Good morning, honey! Would you like some coffee?”

“Yes please, Granny!” Alex made a beeline for the kitchen. 

Evelyn set a cup of coffee down in front of him, along with an omelet and a bowl of oatmeal. “Eat up!”

“Thanks!”

“Do you have any plans today?”

“I’ll probably head up to the spa.”

George rolled over to the kitchen table and tossed a letter in front of Alex. “Here, it’s your Winter Star thing.”

“Oh! Thanks. Maybe I’ll go shopping instead.” He tore his letter open and looked immediately at the bottom. “Hey, what would you get for Emily?”

“A clue!” George laughed. “What would you get for Jas?”

“I dunno, I’ve never been a little girl before,” Alex said. “Penny might know, though.”

“See, that’s the problem. You don’t know, I don’t know, now I’m gonna have to go on a wild goose chase all throughout town, and she probably wants something that I can’t afford on my pension anyway!”

Later that afternoon, George reluctantly bundled up. He cruised over toward the library, and got the first pleasant surprise of the day: Penny, in the town square! She was walking with Jas and Vincent.

“Miss Penny,” he said, “May I borrow you for a minute?”

“Sure!” She turned to Jas and Vincent. “Kids, go play under the tree for a few minutes. And no throwing snowballs!” 

George watched the kids run off. “Any idea what Jas would want for a Winter Star gift?”

“Oh, you got her name? How fun!”

“Not really.”

Penny continued. “She loves those Nature Princess dolls! She’s been talking about wanting a chemistry set, too. Oh! And a robot-building kit! She had a great time during our robot unit. She’s also been talking about wanting a computer or a smartphone, and I bet she could do well with one of the very basic programming apps...art supplies are always good ideas for kids, too. And there’s a kids’ cookbook that we’ve been using, she’s really starting to love cooking…”

By this point, George’s eyes were glazed over. Everything Jas wanted was either too expensive, too hard to get, or both. He nodded and grunted in agreement with Penny’s suggestions, hoping the conversation would end soon.

“You know, I saw some magnetic tiles, they snap together to make two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes--”

Just then, she was pelted in the back of the head by a snowball. She spun around to see Jas standing behind Vincent, pointing at him.

“Vincent! I said no throwing snowballs!”

“I didn’t throw it, I kicked it!”

George laughed. He couldn’t help himself.

Penny, whose back and shoulders were covered in snow, turned back to George. “Excuse me, Mr. Mullner. I have to take care of this.” She turned on her heel and headed for the tree, not waiting for a response.

Still chuckling, George turned around and wheeled himself home. It was a wholly unproductive trip out, but on the plus side, he did get to see someone get whacked by a snowball.

Over the next few days, George tried asking a few others. The answers and ideas he got were all either too expensive or too hard to get. It was frustrating hearing the young people say, “Just use the internet!” like he had a computer or any idea how to use one. 

He was nearly at his wit’s end the day before the Feast. He turned on the television while Evelyn was out at Pierre’s. There had to be something he could get for Jas, something that was actually possible for him to give her.

“Welcome back to Welwick’s Oracle! I sense that a new viewer has joined us...an elderly gentleman from Stardew Valley?”

George looked at the clock. “Oh, yeah, I guess it is a little too early for the news…”

The fortune teller stood and walked toward the screen. She seemed to look right at George. “Listen, George. Little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice. Even the nerdy ones who want to learn to program computers would appreciate some sugar.”

“What?”

Welwick nodded. “Sugar, George. You’re looking for a gift for a special little girl. She’s smarter than most kids, she’s mature for her age, for the most part she’s a proper young lady...but even the most conscientious kid just needs a cake or some pudding sometimes. Give her a break!”

While George was trying to figure out what the heck just happened, Welwick walked back to her table with the crystal ball. “Excuse me, where was I? Oh, yes. The spirits feel neutral today. The day is in your hands.”

“Sugar, huh? Pudding...I bet Evelyn’s got a recipe for some pudding around here somewhere, that sounds a hell of a lot easier than cake.”

While Welwick was explaining the significance of the alignment of the planets, she gave George a thumbs up. 

So, George rolled to the kitchen and grabbed a cookbook from the bookshelf. “The Queen of Sauce’s Greatest Hits, huh? We’ll see about that.” He opened the book and flipped through the first few pages. “Main dishes, appetizers, sides...desserts. Here we go.” He then opened the book to one of the last few pages and read aloud. “Plum Pudding! Little Jack Horner is chomping at the bit for this ooey-gooey delight. And who can blame him? The plums are floral and sweet, with just the right amount of tartness to fully activate every last one of your eager taste buds. You'll just have to try it and see for yourself…” He laughed. “Oh, get a load of this lady!”

“What’s so funny?” Alex came downstairs, still shirtless from a hard workout.

“The Queen of Sauce. I’m gonna try my hand at making a plum pudding for Jas.”

“That’s a great idea! Kids love sweets!”

George continued. “But this recipe, this lady...she’s just so…”

“Extra?”

“I don’t quite know what you mean, but I think I know what you mean.” George set the cookbook on the counter. “Now will you be a good boy and grab the big mixing bowl from the back of the pantry?”

“Here you go,” Alex said, reaching toward the back of the pantry. “Let me know if you need help with the dishes.”

“Will do!” George took the mixing bowl from Alex. “Now hit the showers, you stink!”

Alex walked off laughing.

George did his best with the pudding. He mixed everything together, exactly the way the book said, all while lampooning the Queen of Sauce’s ridiculously cheery and bubbly writing. He used paper towels to keep his hands clean whenever he needed to move his wheelchair. He had Alex turn on the oven. Only when the oven was preheated and the pudding was exactly the consistency the book described did he put the pudding in the oven. He set the timer for the lowest recommended cooking time. “This pudding was a pain in the butt to make, and I’ll be damned if I burn it!”   
About half an hour later, Evelyn came home. “Dear, what smells so good?”

“Plum pudding!” George gestured toward the oven. “I’m cooking it for Jas. She better like it, too!”

“Oh, I think she will. If it tastes half as good as it smells, she’ll love it!”

On the day of the Feast, George got his gift early. Vincent had somehow figured out how much he loves leeks! He’d gone all the way to Zuzu City to buy some, in the dead of winter. George couldn’t help showing them off to everyone around him.

When he got to Marnie’s table, Marnie greeted him with a warm hello. She was full of wine and good cheer, and just loved George’s gift.

“He got you that as a gift?” Jas asked. “That’s kind of…”

George cut her off. “I love leeks! They’re my favorite thing! And I hope the present that I got for you is just as good.”

“Oh, you’re my secret gift-giver?”

“Yeah! Follow me, I’ve got your gift at my table.”

“C’mon, Aunt Marnie!” Jas grabbed Marnie’s hand and walked toward the table. “I hope my present is better than leeks…”

Marnie giggled. “It will be, honey, I promise. George knows that not everyone’s favorite thing is leeks.”

“Okay, good.”

“Here you go, young lady!” He handed Jas a small, surprisingly heavy box.

“Can I open it at your table?”

“Be my guest.”

Jas stood on a chair, much to Marnie’s chagrin, and ripped into the wrapping. Inside the box was a plastic container. Inside the container was a perfect plum pudding, dusted with powdered sugar.

Jas gasped out loud. “Wow!! Thank you!” She jumped up and down on the chair. “I love it! Aunt Marnie, can I please have a few bites? I only had three desserts and I’m still hungry and I love plum pudding so can I please have some?”

Marnie put her hand on her niece’s shoulder. “Woah there. You need to mellow out. Yes, you may have a little bit, and then we can save the rest for tomorrow. Now stop jumping, and let’s get back to our table.” She turned to George. “Thank you, Mr. Mullner, this looks even better than the ones I make.”

“You’re welcome, Ms. Marnie!”

“Yeah, thanks Mr. Mullner! Again! I love this!” Jas took the box and proudly carried it back to the table, where she would convince Marnie to let her devour almost half of it.


	17. To Penny, from Jodi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jodi's quest for a gift for Penny leads her to a used bookstore in Grampleton, where she meets an interesting character.

Jodi knew that soon, the house would be full of noise and energy. But for now, it was quiet. It was 4:30am. The moon was down, the stars were out, and a pot of coffee was brewing on the kitchen counter.

Still in her pajamas, Jodi made her way to the living room and the pile of mail on the table. She quickly sorted it. There was a pile for bills, a pile for each person’s mail, and a pile for junk. She giggled to herself as she saw an envelope addressed messily to Vincent. It must be something from Jas! 

“Honey?” A bleary-eyed Kent wandered out of the bedroom. “What are you doing up so early?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” she said, taking a step back from the table.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“I could, I just didn’t want to.” She wrapped Kent up in a hug and gave him a peck on the lips. “It’s so nice and peaceful in the morning, before the boys get up.”

“Do you get up like this every morning? Are you getting enough sleep?”

“Once again, I could ask you the same thing,” Jodi said. “Don’t worry about me, honey. There are a few nights here and there when Vincent can’t fall asleep and I have to stay with him until ten or so, but most nights, I’m in bed by nine. These mornings are the only time I get to myself! I really need it.” She paused for a second. “Would you like some coffee?”

“Yes, please.” He headed toward the kitchen. “You keep dealing with the mail, I’ll get it.”

While Kent poured two cups of coffee, and put a splash of cream in his wife’s cup, she tossed all the junk mail and put the bills on the corner of the desk. She opened the only letter for her, which she recognized as the Winter Star letter from the Mayor.

As soon as she read the name on the bottom of the letter, she slapped her hand across her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank Yoba!”

“What’s up?” Kent set Jodi’s coffee on the desk.

“Penny! My Winter Star friend is Penny. I just heard about a used bookstore in Grampleton that sells books for 5G, this will be easy.”

“Oh, good.” Kent opened his own letter and quickly scanned through it. “Hey, guess I’m going fishing.”

“What?”

“Willy’s my Winter Star friend. I’m gonna catch him a sturgeon!”

“What if you don’t?”

“I still will have gotten to spend a few days fishing,” he answered with a smirk. 

“And?”

“I’ll have pulled up a few Largemouth Bass, I can fry those up for him. Fish and chips.”

“Huh.” Jodi shrugged. “Just make sure and let me know how many potatoes you use, if any.”

“Sure thing. Want me to let you get back to your quiet morning?”

Jodi’s face softened. “That would be wonderful, honey. Thank you.”

“No, thank you!” Kent chuckled. “I’ll be in the bedroom, playing Sam’s video game!” He gave Jodi a kiss on the cheek and hustled back to bed, coffee in hand. On the way back, he grabbed Sam’s handheld game from the kitchen table.

By the time Jodi had a chance to go to Grampleton, she was daydreaming about just staying on the bus until it ran out of road. One day, she’d been chopping up veggies and cut herself so badly she needed stitches. The next day, Sam had tried to take nearly a month’s worth of food out of the pantry as a gift for Linus. Every other day was filled with cleaning and cooking and managing a hyperactive Vincent who was too excited for the Feast of the Winter Star.

Sitting on the bus, watching it slowly rumble down the snow-covered road, hearing nothing but the sound of the engine and an occasional ding from a passenger’s phone, was downright luxurious. Her only worry was keeping her bandage dry; she’d wrapped a JojaMart plastic bag around it and secured it with a hair tie to keep the snow off.

“Next stop, Grampleton downtown!”

Jodi pulled the cord to request a stop. She thanked the driver and stepped down onto Main Street. The street was bustling with shoppers, all bundled up in fashionable coats and scarves. She suddenly felt very self-conscious about her secondhand coat and the JojaMart bag on her hand. 

There were a dozen shops on the block she was standing on, everything from boutiques to pet shops, but no used books. She walked to the next block, shoving her bandaged hand in her pocket. Half of that block was taken up by a toy store. Still no used books.

Jodi ended up walking more than two miles, from one end of the main drag to the other. She was about at the edge of town when she saw what looked to be an old house. There was a small sign, barely visible, just below the address numbers: “Jane’s Used Books”

“Thank Yoba,” Jodi muttered. She was cold, she was tired, and she was hungry. She thought the bookstore would be right near the bus stop, so she hadn’t planned on eating lunch until she got home.

Jodi opened the door to the bookstore and was hit with the aroma of spicy, savory food. It was warm inside the shop, and the walls and shelves were lined with books. A stout, middle-aged woman sat in an armchair. As Jodi entered, the woman folded her newspaper and looked at her watch. “Good mor--good afternoon, ma’am!” She stood and walked toward Jodi, offering a hand for a handshake.

“Good afternoon.” Jodi shook the woman’s hand.

The woman gave Jodi what sounded like a well-practiced spiel. “All the books in here are used. Everything downstairs is priced as marked, everything upstairs is 5G. Cash only, no returns. Magazines are 1G a piece.”

Jodi was about to thank the woman. As soon as she opened her mouth to speak, though, her stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl.

The woman’s face softened. “Oh, honey!”

Jodi cringed.

“Is this your first time in?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Well, have some chili and cornbread. New customer bonus! My name is Jane, by the way, I own the place.”

“Thank you, Jane! My name is Jodi. I’m shopping for a Winter Star gift for a friend.”

“What kind of books are they into?” Just then, a timer went off from the kitchen. “Hold that thought! You want water or beer with your chili?”

“Did you say beer?”

Jane dashed to the kitchen. Jodi heard bowls and spoons clanking around. 

“Come on in, honey!” Jane called.

The kitchen was warm and inviting, save for a sign on the doorway stating “Employees ONLY! No Customers Allowed!” At the table, there were two bowls of chili, two beers, and a basket of cornbread.

“Thank you! I didn’t expect--”

“A full-on lunch spread?” Jane laughed. “Well it’s lunchtime for me, and it would be rude to eat in front of you without offering you some. I’m too hungry to wait, so you’re eating lunch with me! Now let’s talk about your friend and what books she might like.”

Jodi stayed at the bookstore for nearly two hours. After a long lunch with Jane, she picked out three books for Penny. Her and Jane decided that a vampire romance novel, a comedian’s memoir, and a novel about a young girl’s friendship with a Junimo would be best. As a bonus, each of them was only 5G a piece. Jodi rewarded herself with a magazine for the bus ride home. Jane insisted on making it two, and gave Jodi her phone number and a piece of cornbread for the road.

On the day of the Feast, Jodi was busy. She was setting out pots of food, carving turkeys, and brewing up spiced cider. With her hand bandaged up, she wasn’t moving as quickly as she usually did.

“Do you need help, Ms. Jodi?”

Jodi looked up to see Penny.

“Yes please!” Jodi smiled and brushed her hair out of her face. “There’s another batch of spiced cider ready to go in the Saloon’s kitchen, please go pour that into the carafes by the stove and put one on each of those two tables,” she explained, gesturing to the tables across the square. “By that time, I should be done carving this turkey, so I can give you your gift!”

“Oh! You’re my secret friend! Thanks, I’ll be back soon.” Penny rushed off.

By the time they met up again, Penny had refilled all of the carafes of cider, and had set out all of the pots of side dishes that Jodi hadn’t gotten to yet. Jodi had finally found a chance to sit down, and was eating ravenously.

“Ms. Jodi?”

“Hmm?” Jodi’s mouth was full.

“I’ve refilled all the ciders and set out the pots that were staying warm on the stove. You and Gus put a lot of work into this feast! I’d be glad to help next year if you need it!”

Jodi, who had swallowed her food by this point, set her utensils down. “That would be wonderful! Some people seem to think that the food just magically shows up here, you know?” She giggled. “And you probably want your gift, don’t you?” Without waiting for a response, Jodi handed Penny a gift bag.

“Thank you!” Penny reached in the bag and pulled out the Junimo book. “Oh, I’ve been wanting to read this! It sounds so sweet.” She set it aside and pulled out the next book, the comedian’s memoir. “Hey, this should be good! My mom and I watched this guy on the Late Show the other night. I’ve always been curious about him…” She set that book aside as well, and pulled out the vampire romance novel. As soon as she saw the cover, her eyes widened and she blushed. “I know this one!” She put it back in the bag and leaned in close. “Thanks for buying that for me, it’s something I’d never buy for myself but I’ve wanted to read it.”

Jodi giggled.

“Where did you get these, anyway?”

“The used bookstore in Grampleton.”

“Jane’s?” Penny asked. “I love that place! I’m so glad you got to go there! I hope you got something for yourself, too!”

“Oh, just a magazine. And some chili and cornbread. And a beer. And a new friend.”


	18. To Evelyn, from Shane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane gets some help from his hens and Gus to make a wonderful gift for Granny Evelyn. There are also some drunken shenanigans.

“Oh, this is perfect!” Marnie squealed as she read her letter.

“What?” Shane glanced over from the kitchen.

“Jodi’s my Winter Star friend!”

“What’s so good about that?”

“I know exactly what to get her!”

“What?”

“There’s a stall at the Zuzu City Winter Market that sells the best sparkling white grape wine! I can only get it this time of year. I know she’ll love it...and I can get a bottle for myself!” Marnie clapped with glee. “I’ll have to take Jas to get something there no matter what, so this’ll work out perfectly! Would you like to go with us?”

Shane wandered over to the counter. “Is my letter there?”

Marnie picked up the stack of envelopes and shuffled through. “Bill, bill, this one’s for Jas, bill, hmm!, and...yes! This one’s yours.”

Shane took it without a word and opened it up. He skipped right to the bottom of the letter. “Evelyn.”

“Oh, that could be fun!”

“I was hoping I’d get Pam. I could just buy her a six-pack from Joja. Now I actually have to make an effort.”

The microwave dinged. Shane turned around without another word. He grabbed his pepper poppers and a paper towel and headed toward his room.

“So do you want to go to the Winter Market or not?”

“Nope!”

Marnie followed Shane to the door of his room. “Are you sure? They have all kinds of cute knick-knacks and kitchen stuff.”

“I don’t like the Winter Market. And she can’t hardly see anyway, so why bother with a knick-knack?” He sighed. “Buh...this is gonna be damn near impossible.”

Marnie shook her head and left.

Later that night, Shane was at the Saloon ordering his next round.

“Another beer? Or sparkling water this time?”

“Gimme a beer.”

“Yes, sir!” Gus reached under the bar and grabbed a bottle, opened it, and set it down in front of Shane.

“Thanks. Hey, who’d you get for your Winter Star letter?”

“Not telling. They show up here sometimes.”

“Well, I want beer or video games,” Shane said with a smirk.“The new Demon Massacre game came out a couple weeks ago.”

“Duly noted!” Gus laughed. “Who’d you get?”

“Evelyn. I have no idea what to get her.” Shane sat down on the closest stool. “She can barely see. She can barely hear. She doesn’t really do anything except cooking and gardening, and she’s been doing those things for so long that she has everything she needs.”

“Well, is there any way to tell if any of her stuff has worn out? Maybe she already has a baking pan, but how long has she had it?”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“Or get her some food! Everyone’s gotta eat, right?”

“I only know how to microwave stuff. Cooking is too hard.” Shane took a swig of his beer.

“Now, I refuse to let anyone say that on my watch!” 

Shane rolled his eyes.

“I am dead serious. You come up with a recipe that you think Evelyn would like, and come back here tomorrow. Anyone can cook. Even you.”

“What even does she like to eat?”

“Well, she likes sweets. I know she loves chocolate cake. And she was raving about the eggnog at last year’s Feast…”

“Isn’t that super hard to make?”

“Not as hard as you might think. It’s basically a custard. You just need eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and spices.”

“YES!” Shane slammed his hands down on the bar. “That is perfect! I can show off what my hens and Marnie’s cows can do!”

“Your hens, huh?”

“Yeah. Marnie’s basically punted all the chicken care to me. Not like I mind, it gives me something to do. They’re really flourishing!”

“That’s great news! I always thought there’d be more to life than JojaMart for you.”

Shane gave Gus an awkward look. “Sure you did…”

“Really! Just show up tomorrow afternoon with a dozen eggs, four cups of milk, and two cups of cream. I’ll have the sugar and spices.”

The next morning, Shane went out to the coop to gather eggs and hand out treats. “Good morning, everybirdy!” The entire flock came running. “Woah, ladies, there’s enough of me to go around!” Shane laughed. He littered the ground with tiny chunks of bug meat, which the hens snapped up right away. There was a knock on the door. 

Shane, trailed by the chickens, walked over to the kitchen door. He opened it up to find Jas in a fancy red and green dress, with her hair braided up and tied with a red bow. “Hey, Jas! You look great! What’s the occasion?”

“Aunt Marnie’s taking me to the Zuzu City Winter Market!”

“Nice! Come on in, I don’t want any chickens in the kitchen.”

Jas giggled and stepped inside. Seeing her, the hens scattered. “Aww, man...why do they run away from me?”

Shane shrugged. “They just don’t know you that well, that’s all. Here, why don’t you give them some peas?” He reached into a bin hanging from the wall and pulled out a handful of dried peas, then called to the chickens in a sing-song voice. “Chickens! Come here, ladies!”

The chickens cautiously approached. 

“Alright, Jas. Now drop most of the peas in front of you and just stand still. Keep a few, though, I bet Charlie will take them right from your hand.”

Jas dropped the peas. Before long, the whole flock of chickens was pecking around her feet, and she was standing as still as a statue, trying her best to hold in giggles. “Shane!” She whispered. “They’re eating ‘em!”

“Yes, they are, and they’re learning that you’re a nice girl who gives them those peas! Come back whenever you want to feed them again.”

“Okay! Can I try to feed Charlie now?”

“Yes you can. Just hold out the hand with the peas in it.”

Jas held out her hand.

“Lower. Crouch down a bit.” Shane moved her hand to the right level. Then he stood. “Charlie, honey! Treat time!”

Charlie, a fat white hen, walked up to Jas. She tilted her head way up to look at Shane.

“It’s okay, girl,” Shane cooed.

Charlie looked at the peas again. She hopped closer. 

“Go on…”

Charlie pecked at the peas. With the first peck, Jas dropped them and jumped back with a little shriek, which caused Charlie to jump back, too.

“I didn’t think she was gonna bite!” She giggled nervously.

Shane knelt down and scooted Jas forward. He spoke softly. “Well, she’s gotta pick ‘em up somehow...let’s just stay here while she eats, so she knows that having you around means extra treats for her. You did really well, it usually takes chickens a little while longer to warm up to people. Now, why don’t you say something to her?”

Jas thought for a second. “Um, hi Charlie. I know you’re a chicken and you don’t understand me, but sorry for screaming at you. I hope you like the peas.”

“Good!” Shane patted her on the back. “Now you better get going, you don’t want to miss the bus.”

“Okay! Bye, Shane! Bye, Charlie!” She spoke a little louder as she headed for the door. “Bye, other chickens!”

“Have fun,” Shane said. He was trying to hold in giggles of his own as he headed toward the back of the barn to grab the eggs.

As soon as he gathered the eggs and packed up the eggs and cream he needed, he headed over to the Saloon. 

The jukebox was blaring disco music. Emily was dancing around the front room, taking chairs down from tables. Gus was washing dishes behind the bar.

“Shane! You made it!” Gus reached down and pulled out an apron, draping it across the bar. “Put this on and get back here, we’re going in the kitchen.

“Shane!” Emily danced over and high-fived him. “What are you doing here?”

Shane held up the bag of ingredients. “Cooking. That’s the plan, anyway…” He shrugged.

“Gus is a wonderful teacher,” Emily said. “He taught me how to run drinks, how to tend bar, and he’s taught me a few recipes, too! You got this.”

“If you say so…” Shane walked behind the bar and draped the apron over his head. The strings dangled at his sides. He tried to wrap them around to the front, but they were too short.

Gus got behind him and tied the strings. “Cooks and women know how to tie bows backwards. It’s easier on an apron than it is on a dress, most times, especially if the bow is up high.”

“Are you saying you’ve worn a dress?” Shane chuckled.

“Are you saying you haven’t?” Gus grabbed the bag of ingredients. “Come on back to the kitchen. The first thing we gotta do is separate the eggs.”

“By what? They’re all large, white eggs.”

“Perfect! That’ll make things easier and more consistent. We’ll need to separate the yolks from the whites, and a slotted spoon is a good way to do that.”

Shane cringed. He had a lot to learn.

“It’s fine, man! You said you haven’t cooked, so I’m expecting that you won’t know anything about cooking. We’ll need two bowls, one for the yolks and one for the whites. I got a slotted spoon for each of us, but don’t worry, I’ll show you how to do this before making you do it yourself…”

Shane and Gus spent the entire afternoon cooking. They made a delicious batch of eggnog, of course; Gus also showed Shane how to make omelettes with the eggs he’d separated incorrectly and the leftover egg whites. They split the batch of eggnog they’d made into two halves. One half was for Evelyn, splashed with just a hint of rum. It was packaged in a mason jar with a red bow tied around it, labeled “Eggnog from Shane and His Hens.”

The other half of the batch was spiked heavily with whiskey and rum. After the evening rush, Shane and Emily sat at the bar while Gus and Clint finished their last beers. Pam had already staggered home.

As the eggnog dwindled, and more shots were added to stretch it out, they got silly. Emily put disco on the jukebox again. Gus danced around, knocking Pam’s empty glass over. It shattered on the floor.

“Whoops, job opening!” Emily giggled.

“Guess you’re running the place now!” Gus giggled. As he bent over to pick up the pieces, Shane noticed the neatly tied bow holding his apron on.

“Hey! Did you really wear a dress?”

Emily laughed drunkenly. “Whaaaat?!”

Shane pointed at the bow on the apron. “Gus said that only girls and cooks know how to tie bows backward, and that it’s harder to tie bows on a dress! And he made it sound like he’s worn a dress before!”

“Oh, THAT! That must have been before you moved in, we had this amazing costume party here a few years ago. Gus dressed as one of those Oktoberfest beer girls!” Emily was slurring her words.

Gus stood, giggling uncontrollably. “Oh yeah, that! Honestly, the wig was more uncomfortable than the dress...and the corset was just awful!”

“Well, if I would have had time to make you one, I could have done it right! Those cheap ones from the costume store are just no good!”

The three of them kept drinking, and discussing the finer points of dressing in drag, until well past midnight. Shane awoke the next morning in the coop, with Charlie sitting on his chest. 

“Buh...what happened…?”

He gently lifted the chicken from his chest and sat up. Charlie hopped into his lap. Just then, Marnie walked into the coop.

“Shane! Where were you last night?”

“The Saloon.”

“All day AND all night?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“What were you doing there?” Marnie’s hands were on her hips.

“Cooking. I made eggnog for Evelyn. And I made eggnog for myself and Gus and Emily. That batch was spiked pretty heavily, though. We ended up staying at the bar and talking about Gus doing drag for costume parties until 2:00am. Those two got going talking about fashion, and I just...buh. Didn’t feel like leaving. And they were being entertaining, so I didn’t.”

“You made eggnog? Where is it?”

“Still at the saloon, in the fridge. Totally forgot it.” 

“Good thing you still have until tomorrow. Want me to get the eggs and feed the chickens today?”

“I look that bad, huh?” Shane lifted Charlie off his lap. “I’ll do it. The chickens are my buddies. And besides, I’m already in the coop…” He stood slowly, wincing and holding his head. “Buh. This headache is no joke.”

“That’s what you get, especially as you get older.”

“Thanks, Aunt Marnie,” he said through gritted teeth.

By the next day, Shane had nearly recovered. He was still thirsty and tired, but the headache was gone. After a quick stop at the Saloon for the eggnog, Shane went to find Evelyn.

“Happy feasting, dear!” Evelyn greeted him warmly.

“Thanks. Happy feasting. I’m your secret friend.”

“Really! Thank you, I’m excited!”

“Well…” Shane handed her the gift. “It’s not much, and I made it myself, but I hope you’ll like it in spite of that.”

“Oh, stop! I’m sure it’s lovely.” She opened the gift, then lifted it up to her face. “What does the tag say, dear? I didn’t bring my reading glasses.”

“Eggnog from Shane and his hens…”

Evelyn gasped. “Eggnog!” She opened the jar and took a sip. “This is absolutely marvelous! You’ve made an old lady very happy!”

“I’m glad. Most of the credit goes to my hens, of course, and Gus for teaching me how to actually make this stuff.”

“Shane, if I weren’t so nice, I’d beat you with my trowel! Stop deflecting my compliments! You did a good thing. You learned to make eggnog just for me, and then you actually made it right! Don’t sell yourself short!” She laughed as she scolded him.

“I...don’t really know what to say to that.”

“Say thank you, Granny, happy feasting. And then let me give you a hug!”

“Thank you, Granny, happy feasting.” He held out his arms awkwardly.

Evelyn gave him a surprisingly tight hug. “You’re welcome, dear. Take what I said to heart, and enjoy the feast.”

Shane piled his plate high with food. He made his way back to Marnie’s table and sat down, but he didn’t get to eat much of his meal before someone was bugging him.

“Hey, Shane.”

“Oh. Emily’s sister.” Shane shoveled another bite of food in his mouth.

“I have a name, you know.”

He swallowed. “Are you looking for Emily? She’s over talking to Leah.”

“No, I’m your gift-giver!” She rolled her eyes.

“Oh. Okay.” He turned to face her. 

She set the small red cloth bag in Shane’s hand.

“What, did you run out of wrapping paper?” Shane chuckled.

“No, I just live with Emily, so my choices were this or wrapping it in newspaper.”

“That’s right,” he said. “She doesn’t believe in wrapping paper. She wrapped my birthday gift in the Sunday comics.” He opened up the bag and pulled out a dinky little digital camera.

He had no idea how that camera would open up his world.


	19. To Caroline, from Demetrius

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demetrius gets distracted by botany and mycology.

Maru and Demetrius sat at the end of a long table at the Zuzu City Winter Market food court. They had been at the market for most of the day, yet both were empty-handed. Each one ate their lunch in silence, save for sighs and grunts.

That changed when Maru picked up her ear of grilled corn.

“Maru!”

“Hmm?” Maru had just taken a bite. 

“In humans, the gene for eye color is always on the 5th chromosome. Right?”

Maru nodded and raised an eyebrow.

“But in maize, something like 75 to 80 percent of the genes can appear on different chromosomes. Genes teleport themselves--to put it simply--right into the middle of other genes! Isn’t that wild?”

Maru swallowed and opened her mouth to speak.

Before she could say anything, her dad’s face lit up. “And did you know that there’s a type of maize that has aerial roots? The roots produce mucus to feed bacteria, and those bacteria make nitrogen.” He put his hands on the table and leaned forward for emphasis. “They. Make. Nitrogen. Do you have any idea how significant, how important that could be for agriculture in the future?”

Maru’s mouth was full again. She nodded, then swallowed quickly. “I have a vague idea. It’s a plant that can, for all intents and purposes, produce its own fertilizer. That would make things easier.”

“To put it mildly!” Demetrius reached over and tapped Maru’s ear of corn. “Maize is such a fascinating plant. What did we ever do to deserve it?” 

Maru shrugged and took another bite. 

“By the way, maize plants have special roots that lay on the ground called brace roots--they’re like the corn’s feet, they help it stand up!”

“Dad!” Maru laughed. “I don’t know what’s weirder, you or the corn!”

“Corn. Humans only have 1% genetic diversity. Maize plants have something like 20%. And then there’s the whole genes moving to other places thing that I told you about.” He took a drink of his soda. The cup slurped; it was empty. “Anyway, do you have any idea what Caroline might like for a Winter Star gift?”

“Not corn.”

Demetrius laughed. “She wouldn’t appreciate it like I do! Seriously, though, what’s something that women like?”

“That’s not how it works, Dad! You should know this, you’re the one who complains about getting a tool set every year!”

“Well…”

“You should have asked Mom, she goes to aerobics with Caroline every week.”

“Oh yeah!” Demetrius smiled. “So we know she likes staying in shape. We could extrapolate from that and say that she is most likely interested in taking good care of herself. If I remember right, there was a booth selling things like bath salts and those weird sheet masks and perfumes over by the ice rink.”

“I saw that. I was actually thinking of getting something for myself there.”

Demetrius and Maru finished their lunches and made their way to the booth, called “Treat Your Body.” They were greeted with light floral smells. The table was covered in giant glass jars filled with bath bombs, smaller glass jars of bath salts, brown bottles of oil in all shapes and sizes, eye masks, bathrobes, pajamas, and bars of soap. 

“Hello, can I help you?” The woman behind the table, dressed in one of the booth’s sets of cute pajamas, asked.

“Yes,” Demetrius said. “I’m looking for a gift for an acquaintance of mine, and…” His voice trailed off as he reached for a couple bottles of truffle oil. “What’s the difference between all these brands of oil, anyway?”

“Where the truffles are from,” she said. “Sunrise Brand is from right around here, in Stardew Valley. Puffin Brand is from the Fern Islands, Melody Brand is from Castle Village, and Secret Brand is from all the way in the Gotoro Empire.”

Demetrius examined the bottles. “Are they all first pressing?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Has anything been added to them?”

“The Melody Brand has a lavender-infused variety, but other than that, no.”

His face lit up. He grabbed one bottle of each oil, minus the lavender. “So I could test genetic variability of the truffles from each of these regions! This is great! Mycology isn’t usually this convenient...”

While he checked out and regaled the proprietor with tales of how truffles form symbiotic relationships with the roots of deciduous trees, Maru loaded up a basket full of items for herself. After she paid, she practically had to drag her dad away from the poor, confused woman who was trying to understand this weirdo while counting out change for Maru.

“What did you end up getting, honey?” Demetrius peeked into Maru’s bag as they walked away.

“A couple bath bombs, an eye mask for when I need to sleep in and stay up late to stargaze, and some lavender bath salts. What about you?”

“Truffle oils!”

“Yeah, but what about for Caroline?”

“Oops.”

Demetrius and Maru headed back to the Treat Your Body booth. Upon seeing Demetrius, the proprietor did her best to look very busy arranging eye masks. Demetrius looked at a few bath bombs, then got the proprietor’s attention.

“Excuse me?” He gave her a friendly smile. “I have a question.”

“It’s not about mushrooms, is it?”

Maru let out a hearty cackle.

“No, ma’am! Though if you have any mushroom questions, I’d be happy to answer them. The fungi in the Stardew Valley area is absolutely fascinating!”

“Well...let’s take care of your question first.”

Again, Maru giggled.

“Okay.” Demetrius took a second to gather his thoughts. “What would you get for a middle-aged woman who likes aerobics classes and seafood take-out, who’s married to a general store owner and is raising a teenage daughter?”

“Not mushrooms,” she deadpanned.

Maru covered her mouth and turned away, trying to hold in even more laughter.

The proprietor continued. “She probably wants or needs to relax. Being out in nature can do that, of course, but so can just the sights and scents of nature. I have some botanical bath bombs over here. There’s lavender, summer spangle, fairy rose, basil cucumber, and citrus.”

“Oh, the summer spangle one smells good!” Demetrius picked up a pink bath bomb. “And are those petals inside there?”

“Yes they are!”

“Great. I’ll take three of these, please.”

On the day of the Feast, after devouring the Bean Hotpot that Penny gave him, Demetrius walked over to Pierre and Caroline’s table. 

“Demetrius!” Pierre greeted him with a strong handshake. “How are you? Still enjoying the tool set I got you a couple years ago?”

“Doing well, sir! I’m Caroline’s secret friend,” he said. He set a gift-wrapped box down on the table.

“Oh! Thank you, I’m curious!” Caroline carefully unwrapped the box and opened it. She was immediately hit with the heady scent of summer spangle.

She looked up at Demetrius, eyes wide. “You’re giving these...to me? I’m speechless!”

“You like them?”

“I love them!”

“Good! It’s hard to tell sometimes.” He paused, then reached over and tapped one of the petals visible in the bath bomb. “Did you know that summer spangles produce eight separate betaxanthans? And that different colored flowers can grow on the same shrub? And the leaves can be used to reduce inflammation!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The facts about maize and truffles are true. The facts about summer spangle are adapted from facts about the mirabilis flower, a real life tropical flower.


	20. To Kent, from Linus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not easy being Linus on the coldest day in years, especially with the Feast coming up. Emily makes it a little easier for him.

It was a cold, blustery day. Linus had been inside the spa entrance most of the day, trying to warm up and hoping nobody would come in. He’d showered, eaten a platter of pepper poppers from the farmer, spent time in the locker room...but he was still cold.

The door swung open, letting in a rush of cold air and snow. Linus quickly sat down, covering his knees and lower legs with his tunic. 

Mayor Lewis walked in.

“With all due respect, sir, it’s cold in here!” Linus crossed his arms.

Lewis, bundled up in a coat, scarf, hat, gloves, and thick boots, laughed. “It’s not that bad!”

Linus pressed his lips together and took a deep breath.

“Anyway,” Lewis continued, “I got your Winter Star letter. I hope you’ll be able to get something good, I’d hate to see your secret friend disappointed.”

Linus stared silently.

Lewis put his hand on the handle, pushed it down, and opened the door as if to leave. He got one foot out, then thought better of it. “You know, Linus, have you ever thought of talking to Gus about a job at the Saloon?”

“No, sir.”

“I bet he’d hire you. Then you’d have the money to afford decent clothes, and maybe a little trailer.”

“No, sir.”

“Pam’s trailer was only about 15000G. It’s heated, too.”

“No. Sir.”

This time, it was the mayor’s turn to stare silently in frustration.

“I live out here by choice, Mayor. Today is an anomaly; it’s the coldest day we’ve had in years.”

“How do you know if you don’t watch the news?”

“I read the almanac. The one at the library is outdated by two years, so I’ve been tracking temperatures and precipitation on my own.”

“Huh. Well...it’s your choice,” the mayor said dismissively. Finally, he left, and let the door close on its own. 

The door pushed a small pile of snow toward the threshold, sticking open on it. “Aww, Yoba’s ass!” Linus cleared the snow out of the way, shook his hand off, and slammed the door. “Damn right it’s my choice!” He stormed into the men’s locker room.

Like most of the guys in Pelican Town, Linus had a pair of the little no-frills blue shorts from JojaMart. As much as he hated owning something that he didn’t make and couldn’t recycle, they were a necessity on freezing cold days. He quickly changed, walked to the hot spring pool, and slowly eased himself in. 

The water was hot enough to instantly turn his skin red. He gingerly lowered himself down into the pool, keeping his hands and the envelope above water. As soon as he’d adjusted to the temperature, he ripped the envelope open and got the letter out.

“This year, your secret friend is...Kent.” Linus read aloud. “Huh. Haven’t seen that guy in years. I guess he’s back?” He set the letter aside, dropped his arms into the water, and leaned back.

What seemed like only seconds later, he heard a woman’s voice. “Hey! Linus! Are you decent?”

“The heck kind of question is that?! Are you?” He stood quickly. “Ya think that just because I live in a tent…” He turned around and saw Emily. “Oh! Um. Hey, Emily.”

“What was that about? I just wanted to know if I should use the other side of the pool, like we used to do a couple years ago.”

“Sorry.” He sighed. “Alex got me some shorts a while back, I’m always decent in the pool now. Guess I’m used to being decent...and to being second-guessed.”

Emily walked down the stairs, wincing in pain at the heat of the water. “I’m sorry. I haven’t been here in way too long. Who’s giving you trouble?”

Linus sighed again, rolling his eyes so far they hid behind his eyelids. “Oh, the damned mayor,” he groaned. “Tried to suggest I get a job at the bar.”

“We do need help, but only from someone who wants to work there...or at least someone who wants paychecks. I know you well enough to know that you’re perfectly happy living in the wild. I’m thinking of asking Haley, then posting a notice on the bulletin board if she doesn’t want the job.”

“Good call. And thank you.”

Emily glanced over the man’s shoulder. “Is that a Winter Star letter? I haven’t gotten mine yet.”

“Yep. I got Kent.”

“Oh, that should be easy!”

“Really? I haven’t seen the guy in years. He never used to come up here when he was in town. I barely know him.”

“Yeah, he’s not an easy guy to get to know. But I work out with his wife, and she says he loves roasted hazelnuts!”

“Oh! Hey! That’s perfect!” Linus laughed. “I have a stockpile of hazelnuts in the tent! And I have fire and a pan...this won’t be hard at all.”

“And it should be quick to make, so you can just whip it up the day of...no need to go outside today, other than to go back home if you choose to.”

“Thank Yoba for that! And don’t worry, I have plenty of experience roasting up hazelnuts. You know that fire-roasted hazelnut stall at the Grampleton Carnival?”

“Oh! Yeah! I went there with Clint one year, that was fun! And the hazelnuts were good.”

“Yep! That’s the family business! I roast a mean hazelnut. My pappy ran the business until he got too old, then my brother took it over, now he has a couple sons…”

“You didn’t want to do it? I imagine you’d get to travel…”

“No!” Linus laughed. “I just wanted to settle down and live a simple, comfortable life.” He paused. “Well, most of the time it’s simple and comfortable. Kind of a hassle today, though.”

“Everyone has hassles sometimes,” Emily said. “Your life is very simple, and the Valley’s a great place for it...except on days like today.”

In one fluid motion, Linus hoisted himself out of the pool and sat on the edge. “Tell you what, Emily, I am finally warm enough! For now, anyway.”

“Well, don’t feel like there’s any hurry. This place is for all of Pelican Town, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“That’s very kind of you, ma’am.”

On the day of the Feast, Linus was intercepted almost immediately by Sam. Sam loaded him up with pantry staples, fresh veggies, fresh fish, and coffee. At first, Linus was annoyed by the whole thing, until Sam explained that he was trying to give Linus some free time rather than some pity.

Linus hid the food behind a bush at the side of the mountain, then went to Kent’s family table. He approached nervously; Kent, Jodi, and Vincent seemed wary of him at best. He held what looked like a balled-up sheepskin in his arms.

“Excuse me, sir?” Linus spoke hesitantly.

“Yes?” 

“I’m your Winter Star friend. May I set this down?”

Kent moved his plate out of the way. “Yes you may.” His voice was flat.

“And...can I please have the sheepskin back once you unwrap the gift?”

“Oh, this is the wrapping! Yes, I’ll give it back.”

“Thanks. It’s a great insulator, your gift should still be warm.”

Kent’s eyes widened as he unwrapped the gift. It was warm, alright. There was a brown paper bag bundled deep inside the sheepskin. He was immediately hit by the scent of hazelnuts.

“Oh…! Mom used to give this to me when I was a young boy. It brings back great memories.” He looked Linus in the eyes. “Thank you.”

Linus visibly relaxed as a smile spread across his face. “My pleasure! I’m glad you like them.”

“I wasn’t sure what to expect when you came up with all that sheepskin, but this is amazing.”

“Sorry it wasn’t properly wrapped, I just use what I have. Anyway, sir, I need to be going. Your son got me a bunch of food, and I’m going to put it all away in the tent and the snow so none of it goes to waste. Happy Feasting!” With that, Linus headed for the bush where he’d stashed his gift.


	21. To Marnie, from Robin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin has no idea what to get Marnie or why there's tension between them, but a hint from Maru and some help from Leah make for a wonderful gift.

Robin took a deep breath and knocked on the bedroom door. She carried a plate of scrambled eggs and crystal fruit, with a cup of coffee perched precariously on the edge.

“It’s me, honey!”

“Come in.”

Demetrius sat on the edge of the bed, sulking.

“Scrambled eggs, coffee, and crystal fruit tossed with honey and ginger…”

“Thanks, honey.” Demetrius took the plate and the mug. “I hope Sebastian’s in big trouble for talking about his sister the way he did.”

Robin did her best to hold back a smile, thinking of the talk she had with her son in the kitchen. “He knows that he is not to be mean, I’ll say that much. After he fixed up the crystal fruit and got his breakfast, he went down to his room to work.”

“You mean screw around on the internet?”

“I. Mean. Work.” Robin clearly enunciated every word. “Listen, maybe I haven’t been as transparent as I should have been with his finances, because he’s an adult, but he’s bringing in money. He works from 11:00 to 3:00, Sunday through Wednesday, plus Thursday nights.”

“That’s only part-time hours!”

“Yeah, and it’s full-time money.” Robin sat next to her husband. “When was the last time you made an appointment at the Clinic?”

“Two weeks ago when I rolled my ankle.”

“Did you call?”

“No, I used the new online system. It’s pretty cool!”

“Sebastian wrote that program. And he pays for our internet.” She gave Demetrius a pointed glare. “Without Sebastian, that literally would not have been a possibility. Listen. I told him to stop being a jerk to his sister or there will be huge consequences. And I’m telling you, let him work. He is not to do laundry or clean house during his work time, just like I don’t clean when the shop’s open and you don’t do any housework when you’re in the lab.”

“What does this have to do with the snowgoon?” Demetrius took a drink of his coffee. “I got rid of the snowgoon and told him not to call his sister fat, and suddenly we’re discussing his work schedule and financial contributions?”

Robin said a silent prayer to Yoba. “Hon, I know it’s hard for you to see the big picture sometimes, at least when it comes to people. Just like a tiny fungus can feed a huge tree that sends out shoots that become a forest and change the very climate of a region, your interactions with someone days or weeks earlier can have an effect.”

“Robin, I’m surprised you remembered that Common Mushrooms have a symbiotic relationship with pine trees!” He smiled at his wife, but that smile dropped off his face as soon as he saw the daggers she was staring through him. “And...I’ll be more mindful of Sebastian’s work hours. Even though I still don’t see what it has to do with the snowgoon.”

“Thanks for trusting me on this one.” She patted his knee. “Did you get your Winter Star letter?”

“Yep. I got Caroline. I’m clueless, but I’m looking forward to going to the Zuzu City Winter Market with Maru on Wednesday. Wanna go?”

“I would love to, but I’m working. I got Marnie, and I don’t know what to get her.”

“Don’t you go to aerobics class with her?”

“Well, yeah...but she never talks to me.” Robin turned away. “Honestly? I don’t think she likes me that much.”

“Oh! That’s good! That means the gift won’t matter much, will it?” Demetrius took a bite of breakfast. “Great eggs, by the way. Thanks for cooking, I’ll do dinner tonight.”

“Oh. Um. Thanks, honey.” Robin gave him a kiss on the cheek and left the room. As soon as she closed the door, she rubbed her temples.

“What’s up, Mom?” Maru walked with Robin to the kitchen.

“Long morning already. It’s Winter Star time, which is stressful, and your brother built a snowgoon that caused some drama.”

“I think I saw the remains of that snowgoon. Wasn’t it blocking the path?”

“Yeah.”

Maru went straight to the coffee maker, opened the cabinet underneath, and pressed a button. A hydraulic lift folded out. She stood on the lift and held the refrigerator door for balance as the lift brought her feet to nearly counter height so she could get some coffee from the cabinet over the fridge.

“Speaking of Sebastian, he’s in his room working, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Hope he wants a coffee break. I’m stumped as to what to get Vincent.”

“I’ll warn you, Sebby’s in a mood.”

“He always is. Who’d you get for Winter Star?” Maru stomped on the lift two times. It lowered her down.

“Marnie.” Robin sighed and sat at the table. “I have no idea what to get her. I get the feeling that she doesn’t like me, so I want to make peace, you know?”

“Why wouldn’t she like you?” Maru was puttering around the kitchen, making a pot of coffee.

“I don’t know. She never talks to me at aerobics class, and she’s just short and rude with me at the Saloon. I try to talk to Lewis, and she’ll literally stand between us and give me a quick answer to get rid of me!”

“Yeah, probably because her and Lewis are--”

“Hey! Don’t gossip! Only Yoba has The Knowing Wisdom. The rest of us should just rely on what we see.” 

Maru cackled. 

“Besides, honey, this isn’t about Lewis. It’s about Marnie. I want her to be happy with her gift, because the Feast of the Winter Star is about giving and appreciation. And I genuinely do want her to like me...”

“Well, then, how about a compliment?” Maru poured two cups of coffee.

“I’d have to figure out how to make it tangible. And what would I say?”

“How about…” Maru looked up, as if searching the ceiling for an answer. “You’re beautiful from the inside out?”

“That’s good!”

“...and you deserve better than Lewis.”

“NO, Maru!”

Maru giggled and ran down the stairs to Sebastian’s room, leaving Robin alone.

Maru’s idea got Robin thinking. She went to her shop, and saw that she had an extra piece of mirrored glass that would work well for a hand mirror. She had a lathe, dowels, and some dried wood that would work for a face.

She spent most of the afternoon working on the mirror, with a sign on the register telling any potential customers to call her. Sure enough, just as she was getting into the groove of working on that mirror, her phone rang.

“Carpenter shop, Robin,” she said, switching off the lathe.

“Hi, it’s Leah. I was just hoping to look at your cast-offs, please.” Every once in a while, Leah would go through Robin’s shop and pick up any interesting-looking bits of wood that Robin had no use for. Robin loved this; she was able to charge Leah for wood that she would have just discarded before.

“Oh, good! Come on back.”

Leah walked in and was immediately drawn to a large rectangle. “Ooooh, this is nice!”

“It has a knothole on the top left, that’s why I used the other side of the board for my project.”

“Not a problem at all, I’m looking to make something organically shaped and rounded, and the knothole will just get cut off. What are you doing back here, anyway?”

“Making a Winter Star gift. I got Marnie’s name.”

“Oh! That should be fun!”

Robin cringed. “I’m not sure I’d call it that. She doesn’t seem to like me that much. But I’m making her a hand mirror, and I’m going to put a compliment on the back of the mirror.”

“Why don’t you etch it into the glass? That way, she’ll see it whenever she sees her face.”

“That’s brilliant!” Robin clasped her hands over her chest. “But I don’t know how to etch glass.”

“I do, and I have the stuff at my place to do it.”

“Tell you what,” Robin said. “I’ll give you that wood for free if you’ll show me how to etch the glass.”

“Deal!” Leah giggled. “This’ll be fun! I haven’t done glass etching in a long time.”

“Want a ride back to your place so we can put the wood in the back of the truck?”

“Yes please.”

On the day of the Feast, both Robin and Leah were proud of the gifts they’d made. Leah’s large piece of wood became a new sign for Pierre’s store, and Robin’s mirror for Marnie was etched in a beautiful script. Robin waited until Marnie was away from Lewis, Jas, and Vincent, and then she practically pounced. 

“Marnie! How are you? Happy Feasting!”

Marnie took a drink of wine. “Hello, Ms. Robin.”

“I’m your secret friend, I have a present for you!”

“Oh. I guess I’ll take it,” Marnie said coolly.

Robin gave her a gift-wrapped box. Marnie opened the box and found the mirror, face-down. The handle had a few ornate flourishes; the mirror was stained and lacquered to a shiny finish that showed off the natural grain of the wood. Marnie picked it up to look at the front.

“Wait a minute…” She reached up to scratch at the glass. “Oh! It’s etched in there!”

“Yes it is.” Robin beamed. “It says, your radiance begins in your soul and shines outward for all to see.” She paused and waited for Marnie’s eyes to meet hers. “It’s true, you know.”

“This is an incredible gift! Thanks!!”

“You’re welcome. I put it on the face of the mirror because we all have bad days, and I never want you to forget that someone genuinely admires you.”

Marnie put the mirror down in its box. “I had no idea. Thanks so much, Robin.”


End file.
